Newborn Swan
by Voldivoice
Summary: On the way back from her father's funeral, 18-year-old Bella is in a car accident and bitten by an hostile vampire. Abandoned, newborn, and with no living family, she picks a direction and runs. Fortunately she crosses paths with a certain Alaskan coven.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. **

**Author's Note: I'm sorry to all the people reading my Bella: The Vampire Slayer, but I'm just not feeling the muse for that story right now, although I do intend to continue. I was struck by inspiration for this one though, and I hope you like it! All Spanish translations are done by Google Translate so sorry for any mistakes!**

Chapter 1: Rebirth

Drip...Drip...Drip...

The leaking tap in the basin was like thunder to Bella's sensitive ears, roaring at her and echoing off of the cracked tile walls.

Bella stood hunched over, hands supporting herself on the sink as she stared at the creature before her. The faded and partly smashed bathroom mirror reflected a ghostly girl, pale and slender, long wild dark hair falling to her waist, rosy lips and a pair of dark crimson eyes. This body didn't belong to her; it was foreign, cold, alien. She pushed down on the sink a little too hard and the chipped porcelain cracked, it would no longer hold water. Stepping back she examined her clothing, a black blouse and slacks, bloodied and tatty, as if she'd been in an accident. An accident...she'd been in an accident. Bella vaguely remembered, but the memory was grainy, like watching a tired old VHS tape. She'd been driving home from a funeral...whose funeral? Then she noticed a square shape in her trouser pocket, she slid her hand in and pulled it out. It was a funeral programme, with a picture of a handsome but aging man, kind brown eyes, short brown hair and a thick moustache.

_In Loving Memory of Police Chief Charles Swan_

_February 10__th__ 1957-15__th__ October 2011_

Charles Swan...Charlie...her Dad. It was her Dad's funeral, shot in the line of duty. She'd been driving back from the ceremony, had been dreading sleeping in the empty house when something had streaked in front of her truck. Had it been a Deer? She hadn't known at the time. The truck had swerved; she'd been on the road back to Forks surrounded by the pine forest, there was a steep ditch on either side and she'd rolled. Bella didn't remember anything for a while after that, she'd woken up upside down, a pain in her forehead, she'd shakily reached her hand up to touch it and saw she was bleeding. Bella had not moved but the door of her truck had been pulled open. A cold pale hand had reached in, ripped off her seatbelt and dragged her out; she'd jarred her shoulder and hit her head in the fast movement...

There had been a figure, male, perhaps blonde that had dragged her along into the woods, away from her truck and eventually stopped, leant down to her neck...then only the fire, the all consuming furnace that had taken over her body from the shoulder down. When Bella had opened her eyes the figure was gone and she was alone in the woods in agony. She didn't know how long she'd writhed, she couldn't scream, it was as if the pain had stolen her voice.

After what felt like an eternity, the pain had stopped, at the same time as her heart. She'd woken up alone, soaked though and dirty, but she didn't feel the cold of the winter's day, despite the beginnings of snow that had fallen and covered her. Her body had moved gracefully as she stood, she didn't think she'd ever moved like that in her entire life. Everything looked so clear, it felt like all her life she'd only see 1/50 of what was truly there, colours were more vivid, sounds were load and obnoxious and smells...

Bella's throat had burned with an intensity she could only compare to her eternity of agony. She was hungry, starving, how long had it been since she had eaten? But it was more than that, her insides writhed, her limbs ached, it felt like she was going through withdrawal. A memory had come unbidden to her disordered mind, a woman in a hospital bed, bald head covered by a bandana, describing the effects of her pain medication.

"Bella, some days it feels like I'm burning until I get my Morphine, I ache and I shake. Sometimes I feel if I survive this cancer, I'm only going to have another problem..."

Renée...her mother, that had been her mother...she hadn't survived her cancer.

Bella's ears had picked up a sound, a resounding thumping, shattering in its intensity. It was wet, and sounded warm, and inviting...and sooo close.

Bella had no control of her body, it was as if something primal had taken over, and then she was running. She couldn't fathom how fast she'd moved, trees and foliage had flown by her, every branch in her path had been gracefully avoided. Then she had collided with something large, warm and furry. Teeth had met flesh; sinews had been ripped, fat pierced, all in the way of the sweet nectar beneath. She guzzled like a pig until all that was left was an empty shell. After such exertion, she thought she would be breathing hard, but then she realised she wasn't at all. This thought horrified her, what was she?

She opened her eyes and looked down for the first time, before her was a Deer, a large one, its neck was ripped open, but there was no blood only flesh. Her hands were covered in the crimson viscous liquid; she could feel it dripping from her chin.

She was a monster.

She had backed away from the deer, horrified with it and with herself? She had drunk the blood of another being, how could she have done that? She hadn't even eaten meat in years...that's right, she'd been a vegetarian.

Bella found herself hyperventilating, yet it seemed her body didn't need air, that scared her even more.

So she ran.

Bella didn't know how long she'd run, but forest had given way to empty planes of snow and after what seemed like an eternity she reached what looked like an abandoned gas station. Her breath had not caused steam in the cold, and she just wanted to find somewhere to curl up and cry.

Although, she got the distinct feeling she may not be able to.

So now she was hiding in this abandoned bathroom, ice covering the only window, and trying to acquaint herself with this foreign body.

Bella realised she had not breathed for over an hour, or moved. She had become a statue; someone had bitten her and turned her to stone. Maybe she should try and get some help? A Doctor or something... But then, how could anyone explain this? Bella was coherent enough to know her heart wasn't beating and she was cold, she was clinically dead. Yet, she still remembered who she was, she could move, and she hadn't tested it, but she could probably talk.

Also, she'd just buried her father, she was remembering more now, she had no other family, and her best friend Jake could never understand...

Jake...Jake was Quileute, they'd become best friends after she'd moved in with her Dad at age 13, her mother had died of cancer. He'd lost his mother too, in the car crash that had paralysed his father. They hadn't attended the same school, and Jake was a year younger, Jake's sisters had been more her age, but she'd taken him is as her little brother, sending food to him and his Dad, Billy. Even at 13 Bella had taken over cooking responsibilities, Charlie could burn water. Jake had loved telling stories, and would do anything to impress her, and so he'd told her a story...the secret story of his tribe. The Cold Ones, she'd thought it was a myth...but she was most definitely cold, and she had ripped out the throat of a deer. This was no Boris Karloff deal, no Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or even Anne Rice. She knew she could go out in the day, but the cloud cover had prevented her from testing herself against sunlight.

Bella took an intuitive leap, she was a vampire, and she had no idea what to do about it.

So Bella moved away from the sink, sat down and curled into a foetal position.

She stayed there for 3 days, perfectly still, the fire in her throat increasing, but resisting the urge to search for prey. She spent time trying to remember as much of her life as possible, running through her memories like films. Until, finally, her nest of shame was disturbed.

"Are you certain pequeno Alicia told you this was the place?"

"Mi querida Carmen, I may be hundreds of years old, but I am perfectly capable of using un mappa. Alice said we needed to be here, but she was cryptic as to why."

"I suppose Alice Cullen can often be ... excéntrico, but the girl is especial, and she has never led us astray. Do you sense anything Eleazar mi amor?"

"Yes, a gifted vampire, and very close."

Bella stayed huddled, if her body had still reacted to fear in a human way, it would have been shaking.

Instead, she was resisting the urge to hiss.

The door to the restroom opened and the most beautiful couple she had ever seen walked in. A beautiful woman, with waving black hair, an hour glass figure and olive skin, and beside her, a man in his 30's, well quaffed and nearly dressed with similar colouring.

Bella huddled further into herself and found herself giving an animalistic whine.

"Oh, mi amor, she's recién nacida!"

The woman, Carmen, as Bella remembered, gave off a motherly air, and her arms had involuntarily moved forward in an open gesture. The man, Eleazar, looked more wary, his stance ready to go in front of her at a seconds notice. Bella didn't know why he was so wary, she saw herself as being in far more danger.

"Yes, newborn, but unusually controlado."

"Nina" addressed Carmen, "What is your name? Do you know who you are?"

"Isabella...but everyone calls me Bella."

Eleazar smiled encouragingly and asked the next question.

"Bella, where did you come from? Do you know what you are?"

"I'm..." Bella thought again, she was starting to get scared and it made it hard to think.

"I'm from Forks, Forks Washington. I'm not completely sure what's happened, but I was in a car accident, and then someone bit me. I...I woke up like _this_ after what felt like being burnt alive. I drank a Deer's blood, I couldn't help myself...am I...am I a vampire?"

Carmen nodded in sympathetic understanding; she had come to a graceful crouch, so as to be on Bella's eye level.

"Yes, Mi Bella, you are a vampire. Do you know how long ago this happened?"

"I don't know" the passage of time for Bella had seemed meaningless after her "change", but now she felt suddenly vulnerable due to her ignorance.

"It is October 23rd 2011, the..._change_ takes around 3 days to complete."

3 days, so she hadn't burned for an eternity after all. It had just felt like it.

"I was bitten on the 17th, I was coming home from my Father's funeral. So...about 3 days, the day I woke up, after I..._ate_...I just ran and didn't look back."

"I am sorry for your padre Bella, do you have any other family?"

"No, my mother died when I was 13, it's just me now. I'm...I turned 18 in September..."

Eleazar looked saddened: "Dieciocho, so young. You understand, Bella, you are a newborn vampire, and the one who turned you has not taken responsibility. On your own, you can be very dangerous to humans. We vampires have laws, the Volturi, in Italia, they guard the secrecy of our world. If you were to harm a human and reveal yourself to the world in a fit of bloodlust, they would demand your death. A friend of ours told us to come here; she has the gift of foresight. She must have known you needed help, but you must understand, we only drink the blood of animals. It goes against all of your newborn instincts to refrain from drinking the blood of humans, if you wish to come with us, we must ask the near impossible from you."

Bella felt a thrill of fear at the thought of the couple leaving without her, and a building disgust at the thought of harming a human being.

"I've haven't even been near a human since I...changed. I don't want to hurt anyone; I've only ever eaten a Deer. _Please_, don't leave me, I don't want to hurt anyone, and I have nowhere to go."

Bella hung her head, feeling completely defeated, she was relying on the kindness of these strangers, who knew nothing of her.

Carmen and Eleazar looked at one another and nodded.

"Pequeno Bella, if you would like, you can come home with us to meet our familia. We have other coven members, Tanya, Irina and Kate, we are sure they will be thrilled to meet you."

Relief flooded Bella and without even realising she was on her feet and had flung her arms around Carmen, dry sobbing into her chest.

In all this confusion and pain, she had been offered a lifeline.

It was strange, having a lifeline after so much death.

**Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Please Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight**

**Authors Note: Thanks for all your lovely reviews! I felt inspired so here's the next chapter!**

Chapter 2

Bella had walked in a daze to Eleazar and Carmen's car, Carmen had kept an arm around her the entire way. It wasn't until Bella looked down at her feet that she realised she'd lost her shoes in the last few days; they'd only been slip-ons. She registered numbly that she didn't feel cold at all, despite the arctic landscape. Her feet were dirty, mud and debris covered them and her lower clothing, yet the skin was undamaged, she left a trail of brown snow as she walked. Bella was glad that by the time she reached the car, her feet were relatively clean, although she was ashamed of her clothing, she didn't want to ruin their upholstery.

Eleazar reached inside the car and pulled out a soft cashmere blanket, wrapping Bella's shoulders in it before urging her into the back seat. Carmen squeezed Bella's hand before getting into the front seat with her mate, giving Bella an encouraging smile. Bella had an odd flash of being very small and in her car seat while her parents were in the front, she must have been 3 or so, her parents had divorced when she was 4. It was one of the only times she could remember her parents being happy together, they had been talking and laughing in the front seat, teasing one another. But their happiness had ended, and then their marriage, and then their lives.

All that had remained of them was her, and now she was gone too, changed.

Bella watched the planes of white go by, saw little towns, half deserted and small thickets of woods, for what seemed like hours they drove until they suddenly stopped in a wooded area.

Eleazar looked around at her from the front seat.

"Bella, you have not eaten in days, I think it is time you tried some of our Alaskan delicias, before you meet the Denali sisters. They can be rather...excitable, and it is better you have a full stomach to help with you self control."

Bella nodded in acceptance, even if her insides were writhing. Being reminded of her thirst made it impossible to think of anything else. Carmen zipped out and opened Bella's door, and Eleazar came to Bella's other side, they guided her into the wild.

They stopped by a glacial lake; it perfectly reflected the mountains above it. If Bella hadn't been so thirsty, she would have stopped to admire its beauty. Instead, she was more intent on her sense of smell and scouring the planes with her hearing.

"Niña, close your eyes, smell, hear, these lands are full of bear and moose, find them."

Eleazar's instructions were supported by Carmen, who smiled encouragingly. She was still apprehensive.

"Are you sure there aren't any people around here?"

"No niña, this is unpopulated land, we own most of it. We are here with you, you need not be afraid."

Bella nodded, still apprehensive, but closed her eyes, and opened her other senses.

It didn't take long for her to find something.

"I...I smell wet fur, musky, I can hear the heartbeat."

"Go to it Bella, you need it."

There was no longer thought, only action. She ran, she pounced, tore, ripped, guzzled, drained and discarded. She came to her senses kneeling next to the corpse of a large moose, she'd never seen one in person before. Carmen startled her slightly by placing her hand on her hair, stroking it soothingly, Bella involuntarily hissed before apologising.

Carmen didn't look offended, instead she crooned:

"Well done little one, it will get easier. For only your second time that was magnífico. For now, your thirst is quenched. Let us get you home, I'm sure Tanya, Irina and Kate will have fun finding a change of clothes for you."

Bella stood up without assistance and looked down at her clothing, her blouse was practically in tatters, the bottoms of her trousers ripped to shreds. She was in a complete state, blood dripped from her chin, and was embedded in her fingernails. She knelt back down and scooped up some snow, using it to clean up a little; it didn't melt from contacting with her skin, but stayed in perfect little crystals. The snow was now a pale pink, she'd marred its pale perfection.

They ran back to the car, it was exhilarating to run with a sense of purpose, and with someone else by your side.

Eleazar said by evening the moose carcass would have been found by scavengers. Perhaps a bear or a wolf. Nothing went to waste in the wild.

Bella wondered if that was what she was now, wild.

Bella half remembered a quote from Shakespeare's Hamlet; it seemed to describe her predicament perfectly.

_I am but mad north north-west, when the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw. _

She hadn't really known what that meant before. Bella thought she understood better now, her emotions now were as changeable as the wind, one moment she didn't know anything but madness, and the next she knew the difference between a hawk and a handsaw.

Madness, that was what her life was now. Or her afterlife.

They drove for a few more miles, the mountains grew denser and they began the ascent on a thing road carved into the valley. Eventually, they turned a bend and there it was, a 4 story cabin fortress with large glass windows on top of one of the small hills in the valley, it was built into the side.

It was beautiful.

They drove up, and parked in a garage under the left hand section of the structure. Bella stayed in her seat, making no move to get out. Carmen and Eleazar got out, kissed and then opened Bella's door, guiding her into the luxuriant house. Although a mixture of rustic and glass on the outside the inside was fairly minimalist, magnolia walls and occasional pieces of what looked like Renaissance Art, some tapestries and primal looking sculptures. The floor was varnished wood, although there were Persian carpets dotted around, and the place was full of light from the vaulting windows.

"Do you like it niña? Our dear friend Carlisle's wife, Esme, designed it, she has a gift for interior architecture."

"It's beautiful."

"I'm sure Señora Cullen will be delighted you think so."

Eleazar drew in a breath and stated:

"It appears the ladies are not home at the moment, probably they are spending...quality time, with their male compañeros."

"There are more vampires here?"

"No, the Denali sisters have a ... habit of taking human lovers. They like to say they were the original succubus's. They are over 1,000 years old, so perhaps it is true."

Bella was shocked, Vampires could have human lovers?

"Is that even...possible?"

"Ah, anything is possible niña, with great care and attention. Over the years the Denali sisters have perfected their...arte. As far as I know, the men have never complained."

Bella couldn't imagine being that close with one person, let alone thousands over hundreds of years.

Bella felt a chill go through her, that's what she was facing, hundreds of years, alone.

"Come Bella, you are more of a size with me than the sisters, I shall run you a bath and you shall feel like new. I have always loved baths, in my human years, people didn't know about germs causing contagio. The rats infested the streets, fleas and pests were accepted and people did not wash often. The Black Death had taken half my city, Valenicia, and my whole family when my sire found me. I had the beginnings of the fever, and soon the plaga would have ravaged my body, instead, I was given the gift of eternity. I love the modern convenience of bathing."

Bella wouldn't have called vampirism a gift; it certainly hadn't been for her. But the reminiscent smile that Carmen wore made her think that it could mean different things to different people.

Eleazar had gone to make a call, presumably to summon the Denali sister's home, and Carmen had led Bella to an immense and crystal white bathroom, so luxurious that Bella had to blink. The floor was marble, and the walls decorated with paintings and large mirrors. There was a large Jacuzzi tub in the centre of the room, as well as a wall length shower cubical on the far side. The faucets were gold, and Bella suspected they were real, and there were hundreds of different lotions, shampoos, shower gels and bath salts lining the wall on a shelf.

Carmen walked forward and began to run water, pouring in some Rose smelling bath salts, and real rose petals, and placing a brand new flannel, loofah and assorted shower gels and shampoos along the edge.

"There is a robe on the door Bella, and towels on the rack. I shall go find you some clothes to borrow, until we can get you some of your own."

All of this was so generous, Bella began to feel guilty.

"I have some money; I can pay you back for everything."

"Bella, you are part of our family now, it is our honour to help you. I will go and find you something comfortable, enjoy you bath, and don't hesitate to call if you need help, I shall hear."

Bella stood there watching the water rise, her arms wrapped around herself, until she was forced into action by the tub almost overflowing. She began to shirk her tattered clothes, not knowing where to put them, but folding them in a neat pile by the side of the tub. She removed her underwear, which was thankfully clean; she wondered if Carmen would try to find her some new ones, she didn't know how she felt about wearing someone else's underwear.

She caught her reflection in the mirror and uncharacteristically, examined herself naked for the first time in this new body. Her shape had changed, her skin had tightened and she had become toned and firm. She'd never been overweight, her vegetarian diet had seen to that, but she'd never considered herself as thin either. Now she was reminded of images of sports models, except for her chest, which hadn't changed much. She'd always been a comfortable B cup, and still was. Bella was glad that some things didn't change. She was still the same height, her skin paler and clearer, her hair thicker and more lustrous, but the same length. She wondered if it would ever grow again, or if this was the length it would always be. It was an odd thought, but Bella was glad she hadn't cut her hair; she'd been convinced to cut it chin length by Jessica and was on the way to the appointment when she'd gotten the news about her father. If she was to stay the same for eternity, she was glad she had the comfort of her hair, she'd always liked it.

Such an odd thought, to be comforted by hair at a time like this. Bella moved her brown locks to the side, and caught sight of the scar, a silver crescent shape sitting prominently at the crook of her neck. Suddenly, she didn't feel like admiring herself anymore. This new body had come at a terrible cost, she couldn't believe she'd gotten caught up in vanity.

Bella stepped into the steaming water, and although she felt how hot the water was, it didn't burn. She was about to take a breath before going underneath the water, before she stopped herself, she didn't need one. Bella lay down under the water, her hair wafting in the ebbs and stayed there for about 20 minutes, not once did she feel the urge to breath. Finally, she broke the surface and pushed her hair back, grabbing the first shampoo she saw and working it in, carefully picking out any twigs and debris she found. She rinsed and moved on to shower gel with the loofah, after becoming clean she saw the water had turned a murky, milky grey/brown colour, and she couldn't stay in it anymore.

Bella felt bad for getting the floor wet as she walked over to get a towel, the cool air after the bath was pleasant, but she didn't get goose bumps. There was a lot she didn't know about this new body.

She dried off, ringing her hair out with the towel and put on the robe Carmen had shown her. It was white, fluffy, and reached her mid calf. Not knowing what to do, she drained the tub and waited. Around 5 minutes later there was a knock on the door and Carmen came in with a bundle of clothes.

"Here Bella, here are some clothes, the undergarments are brand new, Kate ordered the wrong size from London and was too lazy to return them. I'm sure she wouldn't mind you having them. I managed to find some clothes that fit you, you are more of a height with me, though you may need to roll the legs a little.

Carmen left again, taking Bella's tattered clothes, but not before Bella retrieved the funeral programme, and Carmen promised to put it somewhere safe.

The underwear was rather more risqué than Bella would like, dark blue and intentionally sexy. The clothes consisted of skinny jeans, thick socks a scoop neck t-shirt and dark blue sweater. They looked like they had never been worn, and it was confirmed by the tags. The sweater fit fairly well, if a little baggy at the chest, and the jeans only had to be rolled up twice before she pulled the tick socks over them. The materials were soft, and Bella's newly sensitive skin felt odd with the new textures.

Bella left the bathroom and found Carmen waiting.

"Do you feel better now niña? Oh, look at that maravilloso hair! Come, I have a brush, let me fix it for you!"

The house was silent but for the movements of Eleazar on a lower floor, Bella could hear the clacks of computer keys from across the house.

Carmen directed Bella to a padded stool by the fireplace, which had a wood burner fire in it.

"Wait here princesa, I will get the brush."

Carmen zipped out and in, and then began carefully brushing through Bella's hair. Bella couldn't remember Renée ever being this gentle, Bella had taken over brushing her own hair at age 6, Renée would get frustrated and pull too much.

"I used to do this for my little sisters; they had beautiful hair like yours. Do you have any Spanish in you Bella?"

Bella tried to remember and after a little while she caught a vague memory.

"I think one of my grandmothers, Marie, was the daughter of Italian immigrants, the rest of my family were Irish."

"Ahh Italiano, then your name is fitting, no?"

Carmen brushed in long strokes now, the bristles massaged her scalp, which she found was very sensitive, and Bella found herself resisting the urge to purr. She could purr?

Carmen put the brush down and then ran her hands through Bella's drying hair, before quickly and carefully pulling the top half back into a braid and tying it off with a band, leaving the bottom half to fall down Bella's back.

"There Bella, perfección! Do you feel better?"

Bella nodded, it was strange, but the mundane acts of bathing, dressing and grooming had her feeling more, well _human_ than she'd felt in days.

Eleazar walked into the room smiling, he place a phone into his pocket.

"I've been speaking to Alicia, the girl who told us about you. She seems relieved we found you and says she looks forward to meeting you soon. The Cullen's were planning to come down for the Christmas fiesta, so you shall not wait long."

Bella wondered who these "Cullen's" were, when she heard the sound of swift running, of trees rustling and excited chatter in a language that sounded Eastern European, perhaps Russian, it was getting close very quickly.

Carmen and Eleazar looked in the direction Bella had turned.

"Ah" Eleazar said, slapping his hands together, "It seems the girls are close."

Bella stood in the foreign living room, with the kind strangers and waited with trepidation to meet the rest of the family.

**Author's Note: Thanks for Reading! Please Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. **

**Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews! The Cullen's won't be featuring for one or two more chapters, maybe longer, but I will be making Bella aware of them through the descriptions of the Denali's. Spanish and Slovakian are translated from Google so sorry to any native speakers who see mistakes! Let's meet the Denali sisters!**

Chapter 3

The moment the women entered the wind turned north north-west and Bella knew only madness. The sight of the blond hair of the Denali sisters sent Bella jumping backwards, behind the couch and hissing.

Eleazar didn't move from his spot by the fireplace, it seemed he had expected this reaction. Carmen stood at a respectful distance to Bella but facing towards her with her arms miming a hug, crooning to her in Spanish:

"Niña, no tengas miedo! Estos son sus nuevas hermanas!"

The three blonde, pale, athletic women stood together, the picture of wintery beauty. They didn't look wary or frightened by Bella's display, but accepting, and finally the wind turned southerly and Bella knew sanity again.

"I'm...I'm sorry, I...I didn't mean to do that."

Carmen came forward and wrapped her arms around Bella briefly, who flinched involuntarily before relaxing, she had begun to associate Carmen's smell with comfort.

"Of course we understand mi querido, we have all been through what you are."

Bella moved away from Carmen and addressed the icy beauties.

"It's just, the vampire who..._did_ this to me, he was blonde. I think I must have reacted to the colour."

"Do you remember anything else niña?"

"Not really" said Bella. "I sometimes think of a white hand dragging me into the woods, then I see blonde hair, and then feel the burning in my neck, then ... well, you know what happens. I woke up alone."

Carmen nodded sympathetically, but reluctantly released Bella.

Now Bella had come to her senses, she realised all three women were not straight platinum blond, one was curly haired and had a distinct strawberry blond colour. She was taller than Bella, who was 5 ft 6, and almost painfully beautiful.

"Sestra, it is nothing, it is wonderful to meet you, I am Tanya. You have been through a terrible trauma. We are sorry we startled you, it has been many decades since we encountered a newborn. We were just excited to meet you. No one has joined our family for over 200 years, and change comes so seldom to vampire life, we became overzealous."

"Don't apologise, please, it was my fault, I should have controlled myself."

"You are 3 days old, Sestra, you should not judge yourself so harshly. The level of control you do have usually takes years, you are quite extraordinary already. And beautiful, no? It runs in the family."

Tanya winked at Bella who smiled wanly, she may not agree with Tanya's assessment but it was nice to be included in her idea of "family", for however long it lasted. The word "family" brought Bella's thoughts back to Charlie and Renée, and Bella's smile disappeared.

"Yes Tanya, very lovely." Said one of the other flaxen haired sisters, her straight locks were scraped into an elegant chignon.

"I am Irina, you have already met Tanya, she is always very...forward, and here is our littlest sister, Kate."

The other blonde, whose hair was flowing down her back, smiled roguishly at Bella as she came forward. The three were very similar physically and with the same Amber eyes that Bella had to ask:

"Are you all biological sisters?"

The three glanced at one another and laughed. Tanya answered, she seemed to be the leader:

"Why no child, our mother, our sire, had a particular look in mind when trying to create new progeny. She wanted to find people who looked like her, so she could feel the connection. She'd always wanted children..."

Tanya suddenly looked very sad, and Irina placed a hand on her shoulder as Kate introduced herself.

"I'm Kate, it's a pleasure to meet you Bella."

She extended her hand expectantly and Bella took it, Kate held it for a while, not shaking it or making any movements, but with a confused look on her face, Bella noted the skin was very soft.

"Kate!" Carmen warned from the side.

"Nothing happened." Kate said puzzled, withdrawing her hand at Carmen's admonishment.

Bella felt suddenly inadequate: "Was I meant to do something?"

Irina gave Kate a reprimanding look and Kate stood back, looking a little perturbed.

"Not at all, Kate was attempting to play a practical joke, one that seems to have backfired. It was in bad taste anyway."

Bella knew she was missing something important, it seemed she was ignorant of many things lately.

"Perhaps, I can shed light on the situacíon."

The Denali sisters stepped back as Eleazar stepped forward from his place at the fire. From what she'd gathered, Eleazar garnered great respect, but some things he'd said made Bella think he was younger than the Denali's.

"Bella, you will find that vampires carry the strongest traits of their personalities through from their human lives. Everything about us is amplified, including any gifts we may have had. Kate here must have had a..._charged_ personality, for now in her vampire life she can give people electric shocks through physical touch. Kate is particularly proud of her talent, and I am sure was only eager to show off, rather than cause you actual harm."

Here he stopped to look at Kate, who nodded as if a conversation had passed between them.

"I myself possess a gift, I have told you of the Volturi, the authorities of our world, Aro the head of the coven, has a predilection for collecting vampires with abilities. For two centuries I used my talent, which is to identify other vampires gifts, to aid him, until I met mi amor, Carmen"

He looked fondly at her, she was now standing beside him and he kissed her hand.

"I had been unhappy in my position for decades, and she gave me the courage to leave. But, it is due to my talent that I know, Isabella, that _you_ have a gift."

Bella was stunned by this pronouncement, so now she wasn't just an unusual newborn, she was special too?

"I have encountered only one gift similar to yours, that of Renata of the Volturi Coven. She is able to create a physical shield to divert attacks; she is Aro's personal bodyguard. You, however, are different, and If I am correct, far more powerful. The majority of vampire gifts are based in the mind, and it seems, that yours cannot be penetrar. You are what I would call a Mental Shield, your mind is private, and none may influence you without your permission. That is why Kate could not shock you, because her gift is based in the mind. So, you are quite safe from her."

Kate apologised to Bella: "I'm sorry Bella, that wasn't very mature. Nor does it encourage you to trust us. I suppose it is a form of hazing, for me to shock any new vampire I meet, I am deeply sorry if I worried you."

Bella nodded, but was still a little wary.

Bella looked at the group together and noticed their Amber eyes, and remembered her own crimson.

"Why are your eyes different to mine?"

Eleazar seized the change of subject:

"Ah, you are newborn Bella, you still have your own blood within you, it makes you strong. If you were to drink the blood of a human, they would remain that colour. We have long existed on a diet of animal blood, which has the curious side-effect of making our eyes Topacio. My good friend Carlisle has long been perplejo by this, but so far has found no reason as to why. Do not worry, after a few months of regular animal blood yours should change too."

A few months...so long? Bella didn't know if she likes the idea of waiting so long to rid herself of this eye colour. However, what did she have now if not time?

"You have done well Bella, to stand here so calmly and listen to our introductions and speeches, it must have been quite trying for you, let us give you a tour of the house, and you may ask any questions you like."

Eleazar motioned for the women to lead Bella upstairs as he followed.

It seemed Eleazar was an old school Gentleman.

The rest of the house was very alike to what Bella had seen. The spaces were wide and light, ceilings high, and furnishings were rich but not cluttered. Many items, such as paintings and statuettes, wouldn't have looked out of place in a gallery or museum, and due to the nature of Vampire life, Bella suspected they were originals, and worth a lot of money. How did Vampire's even get money? Could they get jobs? Did they steal it?

Bella posed these questions and didn't receive the answer she expected.

"Ah, over the years possessions develop, what you see here is not even a fraction of the antiquities we possess. We find every 100 years or so that what we consider ordinary items have developed great net-worth, so we sell those we do not deem to have sentimental or artistic value. We also have recently begun to play the stock market, although I confess we have an unfair advantage, Alice of the Cullen clan has visions of the future, and she gives us advice on what to buy and what to sell. As to whether Vampires can get jobs...it takes great personal restraint but I have seen it done. Carlisle, the leader of the Cullen family, is a Doctor at a Hospital in Anchorage right now."

"A Doctor?"

"Yes, indeed, Carlisle has practised medicine for almost 300 years, he re-attends medical school every decade or so, or sends his son Edward, who has never practised but is capable."

Carlisle, Esme, Alice, Edward, the Cullen's. They sounded more extraordinary and odder by the moment.

"Do all four of them have jobs?"

Tanya cut in then.

"There are more than four Sestra, there are seven. You bring our number up to six, you make us even, no? But while Carmen and Eleazar are our only pár, the Cullen's have three couples and one loner. Carlisle and Esme you know of, they are the leaders, they pose as foster parents, while the rest go to human High-school. There is Alice and her husband Jasper, he is a magnificent creature, but you shall know more of his connection to our history at another time. They are the only members of the coven that Carlisle did not turn himself; they are relatively new arrivals, only in the last 50 years. Then there are Rosalie and Emmett, I have often thought Rosalie would have been a formidable succubus, but alas her heart belongs to her big bear. Then there is Carlisle's eldest son, Edward, the poor boy was dying of influenza in 1918, and Carlisle was his Doctor. I believe you and he are of an age, you are 17 or 18 no?"

"I'm 18, my birthday was in September."

"Edward is 17, he has been for over 90 years, and despite my best efforts he remains resolutely single. I do hate to see talent go to waste, I am sure he would be magnificent, but he is looking for something. I often wonder if he was changed too young, to understand what I was offering, but then, I have never been exclusive with someone. Edward is a proper Gentleman; he can be so ... _prudish_ in his beliefs."

Tanya seemed amused at the idea of this Edward's determined single status. Perhaps after thousands of years of promiscuity maybe you became a little cynical of monogamy. Bella, however, could see the beauty of it. She had been waiting for the right person too, now...now that might never happen. But if it did, if you had an eternity to wait, Bella supposed you'd wait for the right person.

Bella could understand that.

Carmen continued where Tanya left off.

"Edward visits on his own now and then, being in a house full of couples can be hard for him. I believe you and he will get along splendidly, as well as you and Alice, she has been looking forward to meeting you."

It was incomprehensible to Bella, three days ago she had no family, no future plans and only one friend. Now, she would probably never see Jake again, been turned into a vampire, but had been adopted by an animal drinking coven of vampires, and they were already making plans for "play dates" with other teenage vampires.

Bella's life had become a farce.

"Now Bella" said Tanya, putting an arm around her, "You must tell us absolutely _everything_ there is to know about you!"

Bella had been afraid to return to an empty house in her human life, a very small part of her, one she wasn't aware of yet, was grateful she couldn't.

**Author's Note: Thanks for reading, please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight**

**Author's Note: Thanks for your reviews! Here's the next chapter!**

Chapter 4

Bella sat in the snow, watching dawns rosy fingers stroking the mountain tops, before trailing down into the valley. The sun made the snow sparkle, and as it hit her, she did too. Bella had known the average amount about vampire myths, over the last month most of them had been disproved. This one had been the most surprising, she had expected light to burn, instead, it had reflected, almost like she was repelling it. She thought it looked like diamonds, and maybe it was something similar, she thought she remembered hearing that only diamond could cut diamond. Diamonds are forever...that was what she was now, a beautiful object made of precious stone, cold and hard.

She must have been a sight, a sparkling statue on the side of a snowy mountain, if anyone had happened by. When Tanya had taken her to see herself for the first time, they'd stood here, in the snow in front of the house, and if it were possible she would have hyperventilated when she saw the light hit Tanya, and then herself.

Bella had come to love the mountains over the month, the sister's had taken charge of trying to distract her from her troubles. This had resulted in snow angels, snow men (who the girls had playfully flirted with, much to Bella's embarrassment), races and deliberately causing avalanches to dig themselves out. While all these had been fun, Eleazar had told them to begin something more constructive, and so the sisters had begun to teach Bella how to survive.

Bella had been told of the Volturi, about their gifted vampires, and Eleazar had criticised them for their lack of physical defence, if their powers were disabled the majority of them were not skilled fighters. Kate, however, had made a point of developing lethal physical capabilities, and she took charge of training Bella how to fight. Bella got the impression something had happened to spur Kate's learning curve, and Tanya and Irina's sad but knowing looks made it obvious it was a family matter, so she didn't pry. Bella hadn't wanted to commit more violence, but Tanya had looked her in the eye sadly and told her it was for her own good. Bella didn't want to lose her mind again, but Kate convinced her she'd be doing the opposite.

"Bella, newborns fight from instinct, it makes them predictable, and while they have the advantage of strength, an older vampire can outthink them. I'm going to teach you to think to strategise, and to defend, attacking will come naturally. Outthinking the other fighter is the name of the game, and if you lose it means death. Now, you hopefully shouldn't need what I'll teach you, but it's naive not to. I'll teach you what I've learned, but I'm not an expert. The Cullen's have someone who is."

"Who?"

"Jasper, Alice's husband. He was a soldier in the Civil War, before he was turned and conscripted to the Southern Vampire Wars."

"Vampires have wars? I thought you..._we_...mostly lived separately."

Kate told Bella of the newborn wars over territory, of their violence and brutality, and after too many had been turned, how the Volturi intervened.

"The combined powers of the Volturi decimated the newborn hoards. How can a newborn stand against Jane? Who can torture someone by looking at them, or her twin Alec? Who can completely deprive someone of their senses? They were wild, so they were cut down. But you are different Bella, you are the most rational and calm newborn I have ever met, and if what Eleazar says is true, you will be immune to many of the Volturi's gifts. This will interest Aro."

"Why?"

"Aro is a collector, he wants all the power for himself, when he learns we have a newborn with a mental shield he will covet you. He will be very interested in you, possibly invite you to join them. I don't think he'd ever try and take you by force, he's fond of civility, but we will teach you to defend yourself, and if you are ever in danger, you will have a greater chance of surviving. I don't want to scare you Bella, but the vampire world is far more dangerous than the human in some respects. But, you have the ability to fight back now; with the right skills, no one can ever hurt you again."

In her mind, it happened again, she was dragged out of the car, into the woods, and bitten, powerless and alone.

Bella didn't care about the Volturi, she didn't care about vampire laws and politics. She only knew, if she ever met her maker again, that she wanted the ability to take revenge.

The only revenge a vampire can have is cold.

Being at the Denali house was sort of like being at school again, everyone took time with her to teach her something different. Kate had been teaching her to fight, until Jasper got there at Christmas to fine tune her training. Tanya was teaching her about her new body, running through the mountains, how to stalk, and how to locate prey. Tanya would lead Bella into the mountains and disappear, and then periodically through the day she would attack out of nowhere. Bella needed to learn to mind her surroundings, and be ready for attack, and for prey. Irina didn't like playing in the snow as much, but she was a fan of climbing, she taught Bella to scale rock faces without fear, to trust her new body, and not to be afraid. Her first lesson had been particularly brutal.

"I've never liked heights Irina, I don't think I can do this."

"Your human self didn't like heights, it was instinctual. But you are far more durable now, a fall cannot hurt you. Only a vampire can kill another vampire."

Bella looked sceptically over the edge of the mountain, seeing the valley miles below.

"I can't do it, I'm sorry."

"This is for your own good Bella."

Irina had caught Bella unawares and pushed her off of a mountain. Bella had screamed all the way down, thought she was going to die.

But instead, her body adjusted itself, and suddenly she was landing at the foot of the mountain, on her feet, without an ounce of pain or effort, she left a crater in her wake.

It was hard to be afraid of heights after that. The rush of the air, the beauty of the view, had stunned her, and with no negative consequences, Bella threw herself off 3 more times that day. Bella remembered there was a sport called Base Jumping, where people hurled themselves off mountains, Bella understood why people did it.

She still thought that humans were nuts to try it without a vampire body.

While the sisters had taken to showing Bella the physical side of her new body, Carmen and Eleazar were better suited to the mental. Bella found that she now had an eidetic memory, everything she read, heard, saw or did was permanently imprinted on her. She'd never considered herself a slouch in the academic department, but now she was on a whole other level. Eleazar had taken her to his library, full of books in various languages from the 17th century and onwards and had said:

"By the end of this week Bella, you will be able to read every Spanish book in this library."

Bella had been sceptical, no one could learn a language in a week.

She was wrong.

Eleazar had sat her down with a laptop with a Spanish dictionary and language programmes. By the end of the first day she could recognise most words, by the second she could read and translate them, by the third write them, and then came the spoken part. Reading and writing a language were very different to listening and speaking; she'd taken Spanish in High-School and never been good at it. Carmen had taken to only speaking to her in Spanish, and Bella wasn't allowed to reply in English. Bella was getting more confident in her replies, her brain was translating back and forth in an instant, and then Carmen had introduced Bella to her secret vice.

Spanish Soap Opera.

The Telenovela's were from Latin America and Europe and weren't as long running as American series. They were overly dramatic, featuring cut throat dowagers, evil twin sisters and cheating husbands. Carmen loved them, she said they weren't unlike the Italian Comedia dell'arte she'd seen in the 17th and 18th century. The Soap Operas had set type characters, inflated personalities and shocking plotlines, although Comedia dell'arte was often improvised, Carmen was riveted by it. Eleazar smiled when he saw her watching, stating that he was mated to a teleadicto.

"We do not often go to the theatre in this part of the world; this is Carmen's closest substitute. Ahh I see Philippe had discovered the niño is not his son."

Bella could see the appeal she supposed, her mother had liked to watch Passions. At first they watched with the subtitles, then without, and soon enough Bella's brain could process the different accents of Spain, Mexico and Latin America, and she found that she was unconsciously developing Carmen's accent when she spoke Spanish, which Carmen praised. As Eleazar predicted, when she opened the first page of Don Quixote a week after her studies began, despite the archaic Spanish, she was able to recognise and read the words fluently.

Eleazar seemed to be encouraging from a distance, giving her goals and gently challenging her to reach them.

"This is new to you Bella, only you can decide how far you will go. It is my responsibility as your elder to give you the basis of what you can achieve and guide you towards your potential. But, I find with young people that pushing too much is met with resistance, you are still a teenager, no?"

Bella often felt a pang when she remembered the reason for her new abilities; she would be 18 for the rest of her afterlife. She'd never get the crows feet that women so feared, never complain about gaining weight, or get a new haircut, she'd never even shave her legs again. She would be the same forever, and remember every moment of her new existence.

Those thoughts often made her melancholy. The family knew to leave her alone in her darker moments, she would go and sit on her own, by a window or in the snow, curl up and think. A day may pass, time was different when you couldn't sleep, and then she would walk back in and they would act like nothing had happened.

Bella found that those things she could remember about her human life were now fixed, but that she was recalling less and less new information. She wondered what pieces of herself she had lost while she burned, and if in time she'd ever get them back.

The family had given her her own space. The room was decorated in magnolia, one wall was a window, and there was room on a shelf for books. She also had a bed, its posts were made of metal vine and flowers, and the silk curtains were dark blue. Tanya and Irina had gone to collect the bed from a nearby town, they'd had it ordered the week she arrived. Bella had gone hunting one day with Kate and found it in the empty spare room when she returned. They said they wanted her to feel comfortable, and she admitted she liked having somewhere to lay and be alone.

Eleazar, after one of her dark moments, had knocked on the door of her room, and when she replied, entered. Eleazar presented a leather bound book to her. Bella could smell the animal hide from across the room, it made her oddly thirsty. He placed it in her hands and she looked up at him puzzled, opening the book to see blank pages.

"I thought niña, that it may help to write down some of what you remember. I have seen young Edward do so, and it seemed terapéutico. Or, you may like to write about your new life, it is up to you. I have always thought, it is a shame to leave the pages of a book blank."

He'd left her with the book and a silver nibbed fountain pen, and she knew if it were possible, she would have cried.

Bella had spent her sleepless nights writing down her life, and she found the more she wrote, the more little things she remembered. Like the way her mother would burn anything she cooked, or how her father used to glare down teenage boys who looked her way. How her mother used to address her Christmas presents "From Santa", even long after she'd admitted she knew he wasn't real. Her Dad would sneak the green beans off his plate when he thought she wasn't looking, "rabbit food" he'd called it.

Bella knew she would never see her parents again; they were both dead, their losses still felt fresh in her mind. But, to remember them, to write about the good times, to solidify them in her new memory, made her feel closer to them.

Bella could get used to drinking blood, to not feeling pain, to running faster than the wind and jumping off of mountain sides. But she would never get used to not sleeping, she hadn't been a slugabed before, but it had been good to switch off, to dream, to define one day from the next. She missed not thinking, being able to escape life, now she remembered every second, this was all there would ever be for her. So she would fill it with fighting, stealth and hunting lessons, with languages and soap operas and diary writing. Although she was becoming attached to the Denali coven, through bonds of friendship and familial love, she still felt out of place, like something was missing.

All she had now was time, and while her new abilities were fantastical, they seemed hollow.

It seemed all she was doing was passing time, and she had centuries of it ahead.

**Author's Note: Please read and review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight **

**Author's Note: Thank you for all of your kind reviews, here's the next instalment!**

Chapter 5

Bella set down her pen carefully, leaving the pages open to dry in the warm air of her room. It had taken some practice to learn to write with a fountain pen, she'd always used ball points, but the grace of her new body seemed to suit the ink pen better. She had to be very gentle, too much pressure and she could damage the nib beyond repair and cause ink to spill all over her written memories. It was a good test of her tactile control, over the last two months the sisters had taught her about her strength, her speed, her senses and Eleazar her mind. Now she was rediscovering something else, gentleness. Carmen had taken charge of this, chattering away to her in Spanish as they did various tactile crafts, such as origami and flower arranging.

"Your touch is strong Bella, you will have to relearn to be soft." Eleazar had advised wisely.

"But you are a gentle soul, I do not think it will be hard for you mi hija."

He had then handed her over to Carmen, who had a bouquet of roses waiting.

There had been many crushed flowers at first, but now Bella could caress the petals of a rose, pluck one without damaging the rest, or tearing it in half, feel the softness, without damaging its beauty.

The different scents had interested her too, they were far more potent to her vampire sense of smell, and scents that she had previously favoured, such as Lavender, were now almost too potent.

But it wasn't only her tactile control they were testing, they'd also begun trial runs of proximity to humans. They'd started slow, with the family in their SUV down a nearby highway, passing other vehicles every couple of miles. Whenever one approached Bella had to breathe in, feel the burn, but not move. She had Tanya and Irina on either side of her, to hold her if need be.

"Normally Sestra, a two month old vegetarian would never dream of being so close to humans, but you have done exceptionally well" said Tanya smiling at her.

Bella had smiled back in a strained way, while reciting in her head "These people have families, what if it was Charlie or Renée?"

After several trips it got easier, and they became more ambitious, by no means could she go to school like the Cullen's but she could be around humans for short periods of time. They practised in the nearest inhabited areas, the cabins and lodges near the edge of the Denali National Park wilderness. It often consisted of bundling up in layers (which lessened the chance of catching sunlight or raising suspicion) and walked the well trodden trails that often had locals and tourists. Being out in the open with the scent of humans had burned Bella's throat raw, despite having drank 3 moose before they went on the trip. But seeing parents with their children, hearing the laughter of couples and the fullness of human life helped to strengthen Bella's resolved. The sisters remained on hand in case Bella needed physical intervention, but it never came to that.

Soon would be the big road test, going into a small populated area and remaining within the population for over an hour. Kate picked the spot, a nearby service station with a diner on route 3 just outside the park. Bella and the sisters had driven up, playing the part of holiday tourists, and ordered some coffee. Bella felt tense; there were at least three families and 4 burly men, most likely hunters, in the diner. They drew attention, four beautiful, ethereal women walking into a rundown diner. The heartbeats around her pounded in her head, and if it were possible she'd have had a headache. Tanya was watching her closely and giving her encouraging smiles. Irina charmed the waiter, a spotty boy around Bella's age, who brought them four coffees in a daze, glancing interestedly at Bella, who was clearly a similar age group. Bella gave him a quick smile, but she must have looked like she had a migraine, she felt her face was tense.

"If you're not feeling well Miss, maybe you'd like some hot chocolate instead of coffee? My Ma always says caffeine makes headaches worse."

Here was the real test, interaction with a human, the first she'd had since she was turned.

"...No thanks, I'm alright with coffee, thank you for asking though."

Bella then gave him a big smile, she felt silly, but she'd seen Irina do it and it had worked. To her surprise the boy blushed and stammered that "...you...your...your welcome" before practically running to get them coffee.

"Did I scare him?" Bella asked worriedly, swallowing back the burn of his scent while looking at a smirking Kate.

"Quite the opposite little sister, he's quite smitten. You'd make a wonderful succubus."

If Bella could blush in mortification, she would have. Instead she responded verbally.

"You know my position on that."

"Yes indeed, you're almost as puritanical as Edward, you should get along swimmingly."

The sister's had been quite put out to learn of Bella's views on physical intimacy. She'd never been religious but she believed that you should wait for the right person. For the sister's right now the right man was the one who was ready, willing and able.

She'd never judge someone on their sexual habits, she had come to love the Denali women as sisters, but she couldn't participate in it herself.

The Denali women had taken great joy from picking out a new wardrobe for Bella. They'd started something called a "colour palette" which Bella learned meant she was going to wear a lot of navy blues, greens and purples. Bella had given them a few specifications, she didn't want a lot of dresses, she wanted comfortable jeans and under no circumstances would she wear heels. Eleazar had made sure the women didn't get carried away, they'd gotten her copious pairs of well fitting jeans, brand new hiking boots, sneakers and ballet flats, V and Scoop neck shirts, sweaters and cardigans in blues, greens and purples and several beautiful but modest dresses. Bella had objected to having more than two dresses, but Tanya had reasoned with her:

"Ah Bella, you need to have some nice things for when we have company, no? We all like to look out best for the holidays, and Alice will make sure the Cullen's are doing the same, she is a little fashionista."

Bella relented, admitting she liked the dresses, even if she didn't think they were very practical. They'd gotten her an array of jewellery too, necklaces and bracelets and earrings, it surprised Bella that her pierced ears hadn't healed up during the change, but as they were very old, maybe the change only healed new injuries?

Bella's new clothes had been picked up the same time as the Christmas decorations. The house was decked out in real Holly, Mistletoe and Pine, it made the house smell very festive. They'd gone out as a family into Denali park to find a Christmas tree, using their speed and keen eyesight to spy the thickest and most symmetrical pine, before using their strength to cut it from the earth. Carmen produced a bag of seeds and planted two new trees in its place.

They'd decorated it together; the sisters produced some ornaments that looked very old and very expensive. Bella picked one up carefully to see it was made of real glass, Irina saw Bella examining it:

"It's Victorian, the practice of decorating a tree was German, but it didn't become commercial until the 19th century when Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert came to England and introduced it. I always loved the Victorian decorations, such sumptuous designs and materials, nowadays everything is made of plastic, it is not the same. Although I do prefer the modern clothing, all those skirts were quite cumbersome."

Bella tried to imagine having lived through centuries of the worlds culture, to see the rise and fall of nations, the industrial revolution, world wars and the great inventions of the 20th century. But then Bella reminded herself, one day she would have lived through centuries, and while she hoped she would still be with the Denali's, that was not a certainty. She may end up immortal and alone.

The Christmas decorations, while fun, elicited new memories from Bella, of Renée's stunted attempts at making the meal, her father putting up a tree and lifting her to put up the star...

Bella had left the decorating to have a quiet moment alone and write down her old memories, as well as her new ones.

Bella had begun to worry about getting presents for everyone, but Carmen had anticipated this and said:

"We do not all give gifts to one another, that would cause us to accumulate even more possessions, instead, we each draw a name out of a hat and must do something special for that person. We do this on Christmas Eve; the Cullen's will be here for the draw. It is great fun."

"What sort of things do you do?"

"Oh many, for instance one year Alice received Irina's name and styled her hair for her, and Edward received Esme's name and composed her a piece of music, he is very gifted on the piano."

So that explained why Eleazar had taken a grand piano out of storage in the basement. It now stood pride of place in the living room.

"I play a little but I've never been dedicated enough for it to clutter up the room" said Kate.

"It is always good to have the sound of real music in the home again, we look forward to Edward's visits, he is a gifted músico, and will often indulge our whims" said Eleazar smiling.

Bella sat in front of the piano and played a few notes, she had never learned to play, she's always been clumsy, but she's always loved piano music.

"Perhaps you can ask young Edward to teach you? I'm sure he wouldn't mind. They will be here next week."

Bella smiled and nodded but wasn't convinced, she'd be a bit embarrassed to ask a stranger for piano lessons.

So Bella kept on writing memories, old and new, hunting with her new family and periodically mourning her old one, and all the time feeling that something was missing.

...

"Alice, I don't need to bring any of this."

Edward stood exasperated in his room as Alice packed what seemed like hundreds of non-essential items. They would only be in Denali for two weeks, but Alice was packing for him as if he'd be there for months.

"Why would I need 30 shirts? At most I'd need 16 days worth."

"What if you ruin one hunting? Or decide you don't like what you're wearing? You have to be prepared for these things Edward!"

Edward resisted rolling his eyes, Alice always insisted on packing ridiculous amounts of clothing, most of which ended up being superfluous. She was also being deliberately secretive about their Denali trip, blocking him from her visions for the last 3 months. Edward left his room, which was now in disarray, escaping the musical being played in Alice's head:

_Don't cry for me Argentina, I promise I never left you_...

He headed downstairs to the living room and was grateful for Andrew Lloyd Webber being drowned out by the smooth tones of Carlisle's thoughts from the other room.

_She sounds like a very interesting young woman, to be so controlled so young, I have so many questions_...

"Eleazar, young Bella sounds very talented. Alice has started the packing procedure already, she's so eager to see you all."

Edward heard the voice on the other line.

"Ah Carlisle, the ladies of the house are very excited, they have decorated the house splendidly. Young Bella has been getting into the spirit of things, I'm very proud of how she is adapting to our way of life, we have taken her out in public already and had no incidents. She is remarkably controlled for one so young. Are you still on schedule to be here on the 23rd?"

"Yes everything is planned, we'll start driving up next week, the children's school finishes then. We look forward to seeing you all again, and to meeting your new addition, I know Alice has already been in contact with you about her."

"Yes, we are very grateful for young Alicia's directing us to Bella. She is a wonderful young woman, turned so young, only 18, yet so strong. She has fit into the family well and Carmen is very attached, she's already taught her Spanish. I now better understand your love of parenting, the sister's are older than Carmen and I, we have never had to direct them, but I feel a real sense of responsibility for Bella, as if I were her father, it is a maravilloso feeling."

"Yes it is, I wouldn't be where I am today without my children. I will see you all soon, give my regards to the ladies of the house. Goodbye Eleazar."

"Adiós Carlisle"

Carlisle put down the phone and saw Edward in the doorway.

"Ah, Edward, escaping Alice again, she means well."

"She's been frustratingly secretive lately, she keeps replaying Evita in her head, she knows I dislike that musical."

Carlisle smiled indulgently as he put away his cell phone and moved to put away some papers on his desk.

"Ah you have to allow Alice her secrets Edward; otherwise you would have no surprises in life."

Carlisle, always calm and fair.

"She hasn't let me see anything about the new vampire, Bella."

"I'm sure it's for a good reason. Have you seen Jasper?"

Edward remembered Jasper's increasingly somber state, newborns brought about bad memories for Jasper, and going to a place with one so young, with his mate in tow, had him on edge. Edward reached out with his mind and found Jasper and Emmett grappling with one another on the edge of the property, they'd been told off by Esme for starting in the house and made to come outside while she and Rosalie watched on.

"He's out practicing with Emmett again."

Carlisle's face turned concerned.

"I hope he and I don't frighten Bella, Eleazar tells me her sire was an unknown blonde male, and that she sometimes reacts badly to the colour. Apparently her turning was quite _violent_, poor child, although thankfully there were no other signs of violation. I've informed Jasper of the situation, but it seems to have made him more determined to be prepared for anything. However, Eleazar assures me Bella is a lovely young woman with exceptional control, Jasper's worries are unfounded, and Alice's prognosis is nothing but positive."

Edward nodded darkly at the mention of Bella's change. What monster would change someone and abandon them, the same kind who had done so to Alice? Alice had been prejudiced in this girls favour from the beginning, perhaps due to their similar origin. She had refused to reveal any of her visions to him though, which frustrated him to no end. Alice had never kept something from him for so long, but for three months he had had no access to Alice's mind and she had been excessively smug about it. Rosalie had also been brooding; Bella's situation and her own were not dissimilar, although thankfully for Miss Swan, she did not share all of Rosalie's fate.

"Don't worry son" said Carlisle smiling, placing a hand on his shoulder "all will be revealed next week, and we will meet this mystery girl, Bella Swan."

Bella Swan, it was like a name from a fairytale.

Edward found himself curious about this girl, Bella.

What was so amazing about Bella Swan that Alice would block him from all knowledge of her?

**Author's note: Thanks for reading, please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight!**

**Author's Note: Thank you all for your reviews, here we go again!**

Chapter 6

Bella sat at her vanity, a gift from Carmen and Eleazar, staring into the mirror with a glazed look, as she wasn't really looking at herself at all. The house was fully decorated and the rest of the family had gone to get changed for the imminent arrival of the Cullen's. Bella has watched their frenzied excitement with both anticipation and dread, she hadn't met any new vampires since she had joined the family, and didn't know how she would react. So while everyone else chattered and prepared, Bella sat at the vanity and stared into nothing. Tanya had laid out an outfit for her on the bed, a blue silk dress and flats, she even picked the underwear, which Bella felt off about, but Bella didn't have the heart to put it on. Instead, she was sitting in pyjamas, which were redundant as she couldn't sleep. Right now she really wished she could climb under the covers and disappear into dreams.

A rustling came from her right and Bella turned to see Kate walk past with an armful of bed linen, she'd been changing all the sheets in preparation for the Cullen's arrival. Bella saw she had changed clothes since this morning. They'd gone out hunting together, to help steady Bella's nerves for the Cullen's. It hadn't helped. She'd been warned there were two blonde males in the group; she hoped she didn't let Carmen and Eleazar down by making a scene. It still frightened her how she could fly off the handle at small things. It happened less and less now, but she still felt uncomfortable around blonde human men, despite the fact she knew she could over power any of them.

A part of her still feared that she would turn a corner and there he would be, blonde and malevolent, and ready to pounce.

Bella heard the thudding of vampire skin against wood and the crack of splintering and knew that someone was splitting wood outside. Then she heard Eleazar's accented voice speak to Carmen outside and she knew who it was. For all his Renaissance refinement, Eleazar was rather handy with power tools and fixing things around the house. If anything wooden or brick needed repair, or household duties performed, he was your man. Well, the only one for miles anyway. It may seem rather backwards, even sexist, but then again, Carmen and Eleazar came from a time when men and women's roles were more set. While they enjoyed the new freedoms of society, they couldn't help but fall on old habits. So Eleazar felt he was responsible for providing for the family in physical ways, as he would have done in his human life. Not that Eleazar didn't let others help; Kate was quite handy with a wrench, and anything mechanical, perhaps because of her affinity for electricity.

Irina, while perfectly happy to climb mountains, wasn't very interested in manual labour, or fixing anything, but she was a talented sculptor. It turned out many of the bronze sculptures in the house were cast from her clay creations. Her style was primal and earthy, moulded forms of bodies and impressions of female and male shapes. Bella had gone into her studio when she was working, and Irina had given her some clay, but Bella was about as artistic as a spoon. All she had created was a pulverised mass, although she did like the feeling of the clay in her hands, it was relaxing. Carmen was artistic too, in origami and flower arranging, but she also sketched. She'd had Bella sit for her, which for a vampire wasn't very difficult, while she drew pencil sketches of her.

"With that beautiful face and all that hair Bella, you look much like the women of my youth, you are a perfect subject."

Tanya had insisted they frame the finished product, and it was now with the rest of the family's portraits in the living room. Carmen had been delighted when the empty space of wall was filled in the living room. The portraits hadn't been there when Bella arrived; they only brought them out for special occasions, as some were decades old and rather fragile.

"But now our family is complete Bella, it would have looked so odd with only five portraits, you sealed the gap!"

Bella felt pride at that, a secret part of her still felt like she was a guest, that she was imposing, that her room was still a "spare" room. But, for Carmen to draw her portrait and put it on the wall next to the rest made her feel safe. Her presence had impacted on the house in a physical way, she wasn't just passing through.

Bella has never liked special attention, but she didn't mind being part of the furniture.

There were some positive aspects to the Cullen's imminent arrival, she had found herself drawn to the Grand Piano that had come out of storage a week ago. It had a pleasant smell about it which she couldn't account for, but she found herself there at least once a day, hovering her hands above the keys. Renee had been keen on extracurricular activities, whether Bella liked them or not, piano had been one of them. Her lessons hadn't lasted long, only 6 months, before her teacher realised he was sick of listening to her fumbled scales, and Renee needed money for her new yoga fad. Bella had known she didn't have the physical aptitude for it, but she still felt sad she didn't get to continue, she'd always loved the piano.

On the fifth day of its presence in the house, she'd worked up her courage to perform a scale, trying her best to remember what poor Mr Tewey had taught her. To her surprise, unlike the disaster of her human attempts, she played the scale perfectly, her fingers flying gracefully over the keys. She'd been so spooked she'd run from the room, knocking over the stool in her haste. No one had asked her about it that day, but in conversation yesterday Carmen had mentioned again that Edward Cullen played the piano, and if she was interested he would most likely be happy to teach her.

Bella had liked the idea, but put in on the back burner, she needed to wait to see if she turned into a snarling beast before considering asking Edward to teach her piano, she hadn't even met the man yet!

Bella heard a distant rumbling and recognised it as an engine, several miles off. The Cullen's must almost be here. Once again she wished she could hide somewhere, but that would embarrass Carmen and Eleazar. Bella sighed unnecessarily and turned around, looking at the outfit Tanya had laid out. She stood and went to her bedroom door, closing it, and then proceeded to get changed. The dress wasn't one of the ones the Denali sisters had bought for her, instead, it was a simple wrap dress made of blue silk and it was far more grown up than anything Bella had worn before. The material glided against her skin as she slipped it on and tied the sash. Tanya had said Alice Cullen had sent it for her, as a gift.

"It would be rude not to wear it, besides, it's beautiful!" Tanya had exclaimed when Bella had wanted to wear her jeans.

So Bella now stood, in her blue silk gown, and contemplated herself. She heard more than one car approaching, much closer now, and suddenly realised she wasn't completely ready. She slipped on the ballet flats, thank goodness Alice hadn't sent along heels, and then looked to her vanity, Tanya had picked out some pearl jewellery, a gift from Carmen and Eleazar.

"Every woman should have pearls" Carmen had said sagely.

So she pulled on the long necklace of refined pearls, trying not to think of how expensive they were, and the pearl stud earrings. Looking to her hair, she grabbed her brush and pulled it through her curls. Since her change the undefined waves that had given her frustrating mornings in her human life had become soft, moving into gentle curls at the ends. She'd never been very talented at styling it, not even just a braid, it required more dexterity than she could have managed. She hadn't attempted to learn since her change, so she pulled it back into a pony tail.

The engine noises stopped, and Bella heard car doors opening and Eleazar's voice speaking welcomes, joined by another smooth male voice; that must be Carlisle, she'd heard his voice from Eleazar's phone before.

Tanya walked past Bella's door and knocked, and Bella opened it. Tanya's dress was green and had a deep "V" neck, it offset her strawberry blonde hair nicely.

"Ah, I see you're ready! Alice was right, the dress is perfect! One more thing though."

Tanya walked forward, reached behind Bella's head and gently pulled out the headband, allowing Bella's hair to fall in flowing curls down her back.

"There, that's better!"

The front door opened and she heard the chatter of people below, a rush of new scents came up the stairs, but one was strangely familiar.

"They are downstairs, I know it will be overwhelming, so take a few minutes just to breath them in up here, get used to the new smells."

Tanya took her hand in encouragement and Bella stood breathing in, until her nose became acclimatised.

"Good Sestra, now I will go down first to greet them, and when you are ready, you may follow. We are all so proud of you, and the Cullen's are our greatest friends, nothing will harm you."

Tanya went to Bella's mirror and primped her hair, looking at herself from the front and side, before smirking at Bella from the mirror and walking down the stairs.

Bella blocked out the conversations downstairs, she was perfectly capable of eaves dropping but was learning not to.

After another 10 minutes, Bella has asked or a clock so she could keep better track of time, Bella decided she wasn't going to stand there like a scared child anymore. She was a vampire, Kate, Tanya and Irina had taught her to defend herself, she'd learned Spanish in a week, she could jump off mountains, stay under water for hours, play scales on the piano and talk to a complete stranger. Human Bella couldn't do any of that, but Vampire Bella could. So Vampire Bella could meet the Cullen's without being afraid and make her new family proud.

Bella walked to her door, stood at the top of the stairs and focused on the creaking of the wood beneath her feet as she walked down. She stood behind the arch of the door, out of the view of the people within, hearing their conversation.

"Bella should be here soon, she is a little shy amongst new people"

"That's perfectly alright Eleazar, is this her portrait here? I must say Carmen it's a beautiful drawing."

"Ah Esme, it is only as good as its sitter. Bella is a very beautiful young woman, I only draw truth."

"Yes" said a smooth male voice, sounding almost reverent "very beautiful." The voice washed over Bella, warming her insides in a strange way.

"Kitty-Kat!" boomed a male voice excitedly "You still owe me another test; I bet I can stay standing this time!"

"Perhaps later, if Rosalie doesn't object?"

"If he wants to prove his masculinity by being electrocuted I'm not going to stop him."

"I bet 3 seconds" said Tanya dryly.

"Carmen" said a high tinkling female voice "Would you mind if we had a tour of the house? I'm sure Esme would love to see the changes you've made since we left, and I've been looking forward to seeing some of Irina's new work! I'm sure Bella will come down when she'd ready"

"As you wish little Alicia."

Bella heard the shuffling of feet as the family led the others out of the room.

Bella listened for a moment, and took a breath, only the scent of the piano remained in the room, with the lingering smells of the newcomers. Bella built up her courage to follow the others when she heard a shuffle in the room and she rounded the corner.

It appeared not all of the Cullen's had gone on the tour. Standing gazing at a portrait on the wall stood a tall, bronze haired man. Bella guessed he was around 6 ft 3 and slender, but he filled out his blue dress shirt and black pants _very_ well. The bronze hair on his head was slightly askew, as if it had been ruffled by the wind, and Bella felt the sudden urge to run her hands through it, to put it back in place. She took another breath, but all she could smell was the piano. As if hearing her breath he suddenly turned around and Bella saw the face of Adonis. His nose was noble, his jaw strong, his brow refined, his lips stained a pale pink, and his eyes were warm butterscotch. He was beautiful.

Bella stood in the doorway stunned, and the male also froze his nose flared and his eyes stared into hers.

They stood that way for what could have been an eternity, examining one another, before he broke the spell and spoke.

"I apologise, I have been terribly rude." He began to approach her and Bella didn't feel in the least bit threatened.

"Good Afternoon Miss Swan. My name is Edward Cullen."

It seemed her voice was gone. Edward was suddenly less than three feet away from her and had extended his hand. He was so much taller than her, she felt tiny. Bella woke up a little and automatically put hers in his in order to shake it, but he turned it gently and leaned his head down to kiss the back. His lips were blissfully soft against her skin, his hair tickled her arm and his hand stayed in contact with hers as he lowered it, raising his head and locking his eyes with hers.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you."

Suddenly, it felt very silly to be afraid of anything, ever again.

**Author's Note: Where is their chaperone? Please review! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight**

**Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait on this, I've got a 5 day a week volunteer job at a charity/museum that monopolises a lot of time! Hope you like it!**

Chapter 7

"Bella, it's just Bella"

"B-e-l-l-a"

Edward rolled her name over his tongue, and if it were possible, Bella would have blushed. After that correction, neither of them spoke, they examined.

Time seemed to be as frozen as their bodies for the two vampires. Edward had neglected to release Bella's hand, and Bella made no move to retrieve it. Crimson and Amber stared into each other, both forgetting the pretence of humanity they were forced to maintain. Not a breath stirred the room, not a muscle twitched, not a hair moved, they were in their own microcosm of existence.

That is, until a throat cleared pointedly from the doorway, and their bubble was shattered, leading them to abruptly jump away from each other. Bella rubbed the spot on her hand where Edward had kissed it subconsciously, as if trying to recreate the feeling. Edward pulled his hand through his hair in a nervous way, causing it to go into further disarray. Bella felt the sudden urge to approach and rub her own hands through it, putting it into some kind of order, but the sight of their adopted father's in the doorway prevented any such action. It seemed this new body had new urges, she'd never have thought of being so forward in her human life.

"Ah Edward, I see you have become _familiarizada_ with our Bella!"

Eleazar was smiling, but there was something about the way he said it that affected Edward, who suddenly looked guilty, before recovering and saying:

"Yes Eleazar, Bella and I were just getting acquainted."

"Carlisle, my old friend, I was going to introduce your family to Bella but it seems your son has beaten me to it! But either way, may I present my daughter, Isabella Swan."

Bella and Edward took this as their queue to approach as more people entered the room.

Carlisle Cullen, was as attractive as his son, and Bella was relieved the sight of his blonde locks did not produce the same reaction she had to the sister's on their first meeting. Eleazar and Carlisle were at the front, and Carlisle's eyes flickered between Edward and Bella's close proximity, and suddenly, he had hope for his eldest son. Edward must have picked up on his mental observations, as he subtly quirked his lip at his father. Edward noticed that Alice was smirking from the right, giving them both a knowing look, and Esme looked absolutely delighted, she shared a look with Carmen, who was beside her.

"It's wonderful to meet you Bella, I've heard much about you."

Carlisle held out his hand to Bella, and she shook it. He felt very different to Edward, there was no tingling or sensitivity, just the feeling of skin on skin.

"Likewise, Eleazar and Carmen talk about you all the time."

Bella was introduced to the rest of the family in turn, and couldn't help developing impressions about them. Esme's hair was auburn, and she had an air of a 1950's housewife about her. She seemed to emanate a calm grace, so different to the scatter brain and constant motion she remembered Renée exuding.

"It's wonderful to meet you dear."

The little woman beside her, Alice, had short black hair, and her petite stature automatically made Bella think of a pixie or a sprite. She squealed and practically vibrated when she was introduced to her:

"I _know _we're going to be best friends!"

Beside her was another blonde man, not as old or as tall as Carlisle, but with a grim expression on his face, Bella's hackles raised when she saw the multiple bite marks across his body, he'd been in a lot of fights.

"Major Jasper Whitlock, Ma'am."

He wasn't unfriendly, but Bella could sense he was reserved, she was too, he had the looks of battle about him. Kate had told Bella that Jasper was in the Southern Vampire Wars, and was an expert at controlling and destroying newborns. He was scrutinising her, as if he expected her to attack, and Bella suddenly felt uncomfortable. Edward moved behind her, as if sensing her discomfort, and the reminder he was there made her feel better. It was strange, how the presence of a stranger could make her feel so safe.

The next man Bella met put one word in her head "Bear". He man was huge, all muscle and brawn, with an almost childish face, and curly dark brown hair, he had a cheeky grin.

"Hey little cuz, I'm Emmett, you'll remember me, I'm the strongest and the best looking! This is my better half, Rosalie."

There was something warm and child-like about this hulking vampire, perhaps it was the slight curl of his dark hair, or the dimple in his cheek. The same could not be said for his companion, the woman was like a model from sports illustrated, but she wasn't smiling, and she was so well put together Bella felt self conscious. There was something stiff about her, unyielding, and Bella felt instantly uncomfortable, as if she'd wronged her in some way.

The Cullen's were nowhere near as intimidating as she had expected, they were mostly warm and welcoming, and above all, curious.

"Bella, niña, Carlisle informs me that his family have not fed yet, and would like to spend some time in the mountains. Would you like to come with us?"

"I fed this morning Eleazar."

"Perhaps, I should stay with Bella? I am not hungry"

Edward spoke up, and Eleazar raised an eyebrow.

"The piano" Bella said, struck by inspiration, "Carmen tells me you play the piano, I do too, a little, perhaps you could show me?"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea" spoke Esme, linking arms with Carlisle.

"Come along dear, I have a taste for some Alaskan Moose."

Esme led Carlisle out by the hand, which Bella found very sweet, and as the Denali and the Cullen clan filed out, they left their physically youngest members behind.

Edward inclined his head to the piano, and Bella nodded, and he pulled the bench out for Bella to sit on, before seating himself.

"So, how long have you played piano?"

"I only had a few lessons, I was...uncoordinated, in my other life. What about you?"

"I was taught from a young age, in the early 20th Century. I continued after my human life ended, that was in 1918, so I have been playing for roughly 100 years, I'm an old man."

Edward smiled wanly at her as he put his hands on the keys, pressing them in an unrecognisable pattern. The tune was sweet.

"Who wrote that?"

"I did, for Esme, it's her favourite."

"It's beautiful. Can you show me?"

They spent the next half an hour playing the piece, Edward gently correcting Bella's fingering, her almost shuddering from the contact, their bodies getting progressively closer, and as they played, they began to talk.

"So, Carlisle changed you?"

"Yes, in 1918, I and my family had caught the Spanish Influenza" Edwards eyes focused on his hands, over a particularly difficult piece, although Bella was sure he knew it blind.

"My mother knew Carlisle was different, he was our Doctor in the Hospital in Chicago, and asked him to save me. After she died, and I was close behind, Carlisle changed me."

They were no longer playing Esme's piece, Edward was improvising, and Bella placed her hands on the keys, watching Edward's hands.

"I don't know who changed me."

Bella pressed down a cord, it sounded somber, and she tried another.

Edwards playing was slowing, as he listened.

"The...the man who attacked me...changed me, the vampire, I think he was blonde. The first time I met the Denali sister's I didn't react well to the colour. I remember that day, I was driving home from my Father's funeral, I was dreading going home to an empty house. I wasn't paying attention to the road, then I saw something jump in front of me."

Bella pressed individual keys, a slow sombre tune, it seemed her mind was linking the scales into a melody.

"I swerved, and the truck rolled, and I was hurt. I remember an arm reaching in, and tearing my seat belt, and then we were in the woods. He dragged me for what seemed miles."

Bella's hands began to move faster of their own accord, as she relived her experience, as if providing accompaniment to her story.

"He was blonde, I don't remember a face, and then he was at my throat, and I was burning, when it was over, I was alone, so I ran."

"That must have been very frightening" Edward said, a hard look on his face.

"I can't remember ever being so scared, I ended up in an abandoned gas station, I don't know how long I was in the bathroom there, but then Carmen and Eleazar came for me."

"Yes, I remember Alice making a call to them, she was quite secretive about it."

"I can't imagine what would have happened if they hadn't found me."

"I'm glad they did, Alice herself wasn't so fortunate. She has no memory of her former life, she woke up alone, a vampire, with no past."

Bella stopped playing, and looked at Edward.

"That's terrible! Poor Alice."

"It seems that things worked out for the best, for both of you."

"Yes"

They began the Esme piece again, and then heard the sounds of approaching footsteps. Bella didn't feel like being interrupted.

"You missed the tour of the house, how about I show you my room? It's probably the only room you haven't seen."

Edward looked surprised, but pleased, and something else flashed across his eyes.

"Perhaps later, right now I believe our families require out attention. But I very much appreciate the invitation."

He took Bella's hand and kissed it.

"You played well for a first lesson. You're a natural."

"I'm a vampire" Bella said "I have an eidetic memory."

"There's a difference between repeating and playing, you put emotion into your music, you _play_."

They heard the chatter of the families as they entered, and all split off to their different diversions, the older members, Carlisle, Esme, Eleazar, Carmen and the Denali sister's split off to discuss some things, and the younger members re-entered the living room.

Alice entered the room and squealed "Oh I just had a great idea, why don't we have Bella and Edward play chess!"

"Yeah Eddie" said Emmett, close behind her, "from what Eleazar says you won't be able to cheat!"

Bella didn't like the idea of Emmett accusing Edward of dishonesty.

"Cheat?"

Edward looked chagrined.

"I'm sure due to Kate, you know some vampires have gifts. I myself have one."

"What is it?"

Bella looked curiously at Edward, waiting for his answer.

"I can read minds."

Suddenly all the sly comments about her own ability pertaining to Edward made sense, and she found herself saying:

"Really? Can you read my mind? Because I'm a Mental Shield, I can block mind powers."

Edward looked stunned into silence.

"Wow Eddie, this is great, we've met a girl who can blindside you! Can we keep her?"

**Author's Note: Sorry for the wait, hope you like it! Please Read and Review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. **

**Author's Note: Hey kiddos! Thanks for all your reviews! I've been really busy with my voluntary job, but I haven't given up on this story! Enjoy this instalment! **

**Newborn Swan**

**Chapter 8**

"He is so lame."

Emmett sat next to Bella staring at the television screen as Angel and Buffy fought each other with swords.

"Hey! I like this show! Growing up I always wanted to be Buffy the Vampire Slayer!"

"It's a little ironic you're a vampire then isn't it?"

That stopped Bella, and Emmett looked anxiously at her, as if worried he'd upset her, before she smiled and laughed, leaning back into the plush couch.

"Yeah, I guess it is."

Bella looked back at the screen and conceded "Angel was never my favourite male character, to be honest, I always had a crush on Spike."

"Like the bad boys do you?" Emmett said, winking at her and Bella smirked, whacking him on the arm while he mimed shock.

"I guess he has more personality. He isn't feeling sorry for himself all the time like Angel, even after he gets a soul."

"This guy _is_ a wet blanket, even when he is meant to be a psychopath."

"I guess, I just think he spent more time stuck in his own misery than trying to be happy."

"Yeah, I know people like that."

Bella looked at Emmett confused, but he only smiled wanly and waved it off.

"So, you still want to do it?"

"Do what?"

"Be a vampire slayer."

Bella looked at Emmett again, who had a big dimpled smile on his face.

"Come on!" he said excitedly, shifting his position on the couch to face her, screen forgotten "Jasper and Kate have been drilling you for days, and you've still got your newborn juice, what do you say to a one on one match? Pretend you're trying to slay me, I'll even give you a stick. It'll be wish fulfilment!"

"You want us to role play?"

"You've been cooped up in the house all day, a little violence will be therapeutic."

"But what if I hurt you?"

Suddenly Bella was startled as a big bellowing laugh was expelled from the giant of a man.

"Bells, if you can stake me, then I'll give you $1,000."

Bella's mouth opened a little to protest, but she'd learned once Emmett got something in his head you couldn't get it out.

"Come on little Cuz, the fun police are out hunting. While the cats away..."

The rest of the Cullen family and the Denali's had gone hunting, Bella had already eaten and Emmett had volunteered to keep her company, Bella thought of it more as "Babysitting", but so far Emmett had been pretty cool.

"Fine" said Bella, "but we're only _playing_. If I get the stake on your heart, then I win."

Emmett whooped and stood up, doing a little dance.

"Great! And if I get my face in your throat, then the Vampire wins! Come on then Slayer, let's get this party started."

Emmett led the way to the back door, and they ran to the edge of the forest. He grabbed a fallen branch and broke it, making a wooden stake.

"Your weapon my lady."

Bella tied her hair back into a ponytail at the back of her head, and took the offered stick. She and Emmett started circling. Bella did what Jasper and Kate has taught her, breathing deeply and evenly, eyes focused on the opponent, ears alert for movement. Emmett made the first move, charging at her and she moved and kicked him in the back, forcing him flat into the snow, he turned and jumped up, and then they truly began to dance. Legs hit out, fists were thrown, and the area around them began to show the results of their battle. Snow on the trees fell, pine cones jolted off branches, and lower saplings were snapped in half as they threw each other around.

Bella hadn't had a sustained battle like this yet, even for practice. Matches with Kate and Jasper consisted of shorter drills to establish moves and show examples. She was enjoying the thrill of facing an opponent, identifying their weaknesses and preparing for the kill. Of course this was just a game, but it didn't diminish the thrill. Her new body didn't tire, didn't slow down, and didn't feel pain the way it used to. She was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt in sub zero conditions and colliding with a body harder than diamond, and it was exhilarating. She didn't know how long they fought for, but Emmett's experience seemed to be working in his favour, and he was getting closer and closer to his goal. Suddenly, Bella was hit backwards and Emmett was over her, she had a moment to react has his mouth made contact with her throat and he nipped her playfully.

"I win Bells"

"_Actually _we draw."

Emmett drew away, looking down to see her stake positioned over his heart.

Emmett was about to laugh when suddenly a voice shouted.

"Get off of her!"

Emmett was pulled from Bella and thrown across the clearing, and Bella looked to see Edward hovering over her, concern written over his face.

"Are you alright, did he hurt you?"

Edward held out a hand but Bella didn't take it, instead she stood up herself and suddenly she felt angry.

"What did you do that for, we were just playing!"

Edward looked a little thunder struck, his hair sticking our everywhere and his mouth slightly open.

"Don't worry about it Bells" said Emmett, who had pulled himself out of the snow and shaken his curls out.

"Eddie here has a stick up his ass about people having fun."

Edward spun round and retorted:

"You could have hurt her!"

Emmett shrugged and stretched his arms above his head nonchalantly.

"She's fine, she's newborn. If anything she was more likely to hurt _me_. I like that in a woman" he said, winking at Bella.

"You should know better than to engage her in a fight!"

"I do it all the time with Alice and Rosie. Why is Bells different?"

Edward was suddenly across the clearing in Emmett's face, and gesticulating wildly.

"Because she is, alright?"

Bella saw Emmett give him a strange look, before looking between them, and Bella could have sworn she saw a light bulb go on above his head.

"Wow Ed, you _are _a real boy!" he said, laughing and clapping him on the shoulder, while Edward shrugged it off and growled.

Bella was sick of whatever macho contest they were having and decided to intervene.

"I'm standing right here!"

She marched over to them and moved in between Emmett and Edward, her finger poking Edward's chest.

"I decided to fight with Emmett, _I_ did! You're not my father or my boyfriend, you don't have any say in what I do or who I spend time with."

Edward looked over Bella to see Emmett making faces at him, then refocused himself on Bella. Bella noticed his face looked quite hurt at her pronouncement.

"You're right, I am sorry. I was just concerned for you. Emmett can be immature, and sometimes forgets his own strength."

Edward gave Emmett a glare, and he rolled his eyes and began to back off.

"I'm an adult Edward, I may not have been a vampire long, but I'm competent enough to know what I can handle. If I need help, I'll ask."

"As you wish" said Edward in defeat, beginning to step away.

Bella suddenly felt like she was missing something, and a little guilty for chastising Edward. He was just worried about her.

"Hey" she said grabbing Edward's hand "thanks for worrying about me, it's sweet. But remember, I'm a big girl, I tie my own shoelaces and everything."

Edward looked back at her, head bent to look into her eyes and smiled, and Bella's stomach quivered. Then his amber eyes left her crimson ones to look at her feet and he laughed slightly.

"But not today it seems."

Bella was puzzled until she too looked down to see she was in bare feet, she'd been wearing slip-on shoes and lost them in the fight. Her new skin didn't feel the cold like it used to. In the blink of an eye Edward flitting across the clearing, and appeared back with her shoes.

"May I?" he said, kneeling in front of her.

Bella was a little startled but nodded, and he gently lifted each foot and slid the shoes on, his fingers seemed to caress her soles as her did so, sending tingles up her legs. It was strangely...intimate.

Edward stayed on one knee looking up at her, his mouth quirked and he quipped "it fits."

"Real smooth Eddie."

Bella and Edward were startled out of their bubble by Emmett, who was watching them, leaning against a tree.

"I guess it's my turn for lunch, think I'll go find a bear to play with. Great fight Bells, I think we'll make a warrior of you yet. Don't do anything I wouldn't do kids!"

He winked at them both and then was gone in a blur.

Bella shook her head and retook Edward's hand, she liked the feel of it in hers.

"Come on, you're supposed to show me that new song on the Piano."

"As you wish" he said, as he let her pull him towards the house.

"You like Princess Bride too?" Bella questioned.

Edward smiled and squeezed her hand.

"Even though you can't read my mind, sometimes I still think you know more about me that you should."

"Blame Alice."

Bella mentally noted she needed to get some dirt on Edward from her, if she was divulging information.

At least the life of a vampire was interesting, and you made some good friends.

Glancing at Edward, remembering what she had done today, for what seemed the first time, she was glad she was a vampire.

...

"They fit together, don't you think?" said Esme, looking out of the window watching Edward and Bella smiling and talking, hand in hand as they approached the house. She had never seen her son look so...free.

Carmen approached, leaving her soap opera on pause, and sat beside her friend.

"They seem to enjoy each other's compañía. My niña has said she likes your Edward muchísma."

"I think there is potential there."

"Potential?"

"For something _more_. Edward has been alone in a house full of couples for decades. I have sometimes feared he was changed too early to..._feel_ the way we do for our mates. Now, looking at him with your Bella...I've never seen him like this before."

"Our Bella has been coming out of her shell too, she was very quiet, tímida when we met her. Now, according to Alicia she is wrestling with your Emmett and telling off your Edward. I think, they are good for each other."

Esme smiled and looked on at her son with his new friend.

There was no harm in watering saplings.

"Carmen, Edward is up to date in his schooling. What do you think of him tutoring Bella after Christmas is over? It would be a shame for her to miss out on her education, she was turned in her senior year wasn't she? I'm sure Edward wouldn't mind remaining here once we've left, if it is for Bella."

Carmen gave Esme a knowing look and she too gazed on the pair, who could very well become a couple, with time.

"I would say, that is a buena idea."

**Author's Note: Ahhh conspiring mothers. Hope you liked it, please read and review! **


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

**Author's Note: Thanks for reading people, please keep renewing and here's Christmas Day!**

**Chapter 9**

Bella didn't really know what she had expected Christmas to be like in a house full of vampires. Charlie and she hadn't really made a fuss about holidays, no big celebrations. Jake and Billy might come over for turkey, and then stick the game on, and Bella would clear up the mess. When Renée had been alive she'd always tried to make a fuss, but inevitably her turkey was either raw or burned, her gifts off the wall, and the eggnog far too tempting. Bella has still loved it though. Now it was her first Christmas without either of them, in a strange place, in a brand new life. She wondered what Jake and Billy were doing now. Had they noticed she was missing? The high school had to have reported her AWOL. Was her photograph plastered on a milk carton somewhere? Some sad flyer fluttering down a street? Christmas was a time for family and until now Bella had been too focused on what she was feeling to wonder if her absence had impacted anyone she'd known.

Now she'd thought of it, she had to know. Grabbing the laptop Kate had gotten her, she logged onto the internet and after a moments trepidation typed in her name to Google. She'd hoped nothing would come up, she was sadly mistaken. She decided to look at one of the older articles.

_The Forks Tribune_, Saturday 29th October 2011

"Forks High Senior Dies in Animal Attack"

What?

_Authorities have identified that blood and shredded clothing found in the woods outside Forks are a DNA match to 18-year-old Bella Swan, Forks High Senior, who has been missing since October 20__th__. Bella Swan was last seen at her Father, Police Chief Charles Swan's funeral, before she drove herself home. The alarm was raised by family friend Mr William Black, when Miss Swan was not answering her phone, and her truck was found wrecked on a treacherous road outside Forks. Authorities are not looking for anyone in connection with the disappearance, and suspect after crashing her vehicle that Miss Swan encountered a predator. The search has begun for what Park Rangers have identified as either a Mountain Lion or a Bear. They advise that the public do not venture into the woods in Forks and the surrounding area until the animal is found. The search has begun for Miss Swan's remains. A memorial will be held for Bella Swan at her high school tonight at 8 p.m. _

Bella stayed very still, not moving, not breathing, for what seemed like an eternity. They thought she was dead, when she was bitten she must have bled out, badly. No one could survive that much blood loss, she hadn't. She'd been missing her jacket when she came to herself in Alaska, they must have found it. Of course they'd draw conclusion. There was another article about the memorial, photographs of her friends, Angela, Mike and Jess giving speeches. Further up, they'd help a funeral for her, once the thought the remains wouldn't be found, to give everyone closure. Photographs of Billy in his chair by the grave in a suit as black as his name, and a Quileute boy beside him, wait, was that Jake? He was almost a foot taller and much broader, and he'd cut off his hair, but it was definitely Jake. They both had a sombre look on their faces. God, they must be devastated.

So that was it, that was her life, born, raised, and died in Forks. No one would ever know any different. She was a headline. Part of Bella had always hoped that once she learned to control herself, she could go back, explain away her absence, go on with life. But now she was really dead to everyone she had known, a chapter closed, the end. She could never go back, this was her life now.

"Bella, do you want to come downstairs? We're going to open presents."

Bella looked up from the screen to see Alice standing in the doorway, with a concerned look upon her face. Over the last few days Bella hadn't had much of a chance to talk to her, she'd spent most of her time with either Emmett or Edward. Jasper and Rosalie hadn't been bothered with her. The girl was short and slender, she'd been just a little older than Bella when she'd been changed.

Alice approached lightly, she was like a fairy dancing on air, but her face was serious.

"You don't need to look at that anymore, it's not good for you."

She closed the lid of the laptop slowly and cautiously pulled it from Bella's immobile hands, placing it on the bedspread beside them.

"You knew?" asked Bella, her voice feeling strange in her mouth.

"I saw it before you read it", she said, sitting on the bed beside Bella. Bella curled her legs inwards, moving into a foetal position, to give Alice more room.

Bella sat silently with Alice beside her, by her feet, for five minutes.

"You know, in a way, knowing is better."

Bella looked up in surprised indignation "How is knowing better? Everyone thinks I'm dead."

"Would you rather they were looking for you? Knowing they'd never find you? Spend their whole lives wondering?"

Bella looked away. No, she didn't want that.

"This way, they have closure. They can be sad, they can grieve, and then move on with their lives."

Bella picked at nonexistent lint on her pristine bedspread, letting her hair fall in front of her face.

"I sometimes wish I could do that" said Alice, gazing off into the distance with a glazed look.

"Do what?"

"Move on. I woke up from the change with no memories, just a torn wrist tag that said "Alice" and a dirty sack of a gown. I see so much about the future, it's ironic I know nothing about my past. Maybe one day I'll know who I was, but until then I will always wonder. That's the hardest part, knowing something terrible has happened, but not what it was. Especially when it happened to you."

"I'm sorry" said Bella, feeling terrible. Here she was wallowing, when other people had worse problems.

Alice came back to herself and looked at Bella, and it was as if someone poured sunshine back into her.

"Come on, it's Christmas! Let's go down stairs and see who you Secret Santa is!"

Bella blew out an unnecessary breath, and stood.

"Isn't Secret Santa a little redundant for you?"

"Where's your sense of fun? Just because I know how it ends, doesn't mean I don't enjoy the journey!"

Bella paused as Alice danced down the stairs. That was a really nice way of thinking about it.

Everyone assembled in the living room and Bella realised there was a record player tinkling out a tune that seemed very 1930's. Emmett grabbed her in a big bear hug when she entered.

"Merry Christmas Jingle Bells!"

Pulling away Bella saw Emmett was wearing a completely unnecessary Christmas sweater bearing a large Rudolf. He was also wearing reindeer antlers on his head. She couldn't help but laugh.

"Merry Christmas Emmett" she said, patting his arm.

Bella passed into the room and greeted Carmen and Eleazar.

"Feliz Navidad niña! Of course, in most Spanish speaking countries we do not open our presents until the 6th of January, the Epifanía, but we are in America, let us follow American traditions."

The sisters each hugged her in turn, and she greeted Carlisle and Esme.

"Merry Christmas dear" said Esme, pulling her into a gentle hug.

"Come, Edward is gathering firewood, let us gather around the tree" said Eleazar. The couches and chairs had been arranged in an arch around the pine, and everyone found spots. Edward walked in with an armful of firewood a few minutes later, smiling sat Bella as he walked past and put a few logs in the wood burner. The only space left was next to Bella, who had Irina on her right side, so he slid in next to her and they gave each other a grin.

"Merry Christmas Edward."

"Happy Christmas Bella."

"Come on! I've waited forever, open the presents!" Said Alice excitedly, Jasper, who was holding her hand, smiled, his eyes lighting up as he looked at her. Bella had not interacted with Jasper much during their visit, he was wary of her, she could tell. But in that look you could tell there was a caring man within that stoic exterior.

Esme and Carlisle were the closest to the tree, so started distributing packages.

"Here Bella, this one is for you" said Carlisle, handing her a neatly wrapped package.

"Does everyone have one?" asked Esme, ensuring everyone had their present.

There was the murmur of assent, and then everyone began to unwrap.

Bella looked at some of the gifts, Esme was gushing over a drawn portrait of her and Carlisle that Carmen had gifted them, Emmett was admiring a new video game from Kate, Tanya was trying on a diamond necklace from Alice, and Jasper was examining an antique flint-lock pistol from Tanya.

Bella looked to Rosalie with anxiety, she had pulled her name from the hat. Rosalie ripped off the packaging disinterestedly to reveal a book about Classic cars.

"Emmett said you liked cars, I'm sorry if it isn't much" whispered Bella, afraid of some kind of outburst from Rosalie. It had been clear from the beginning that Rosalie wasn't enamoured with her, she seemed to avoid all contact.

"It's fine, thanks" said Rosalie, glancing through it, but not really looking all that interested. Bella felt a little put out.

Bella turned away from Rosalie, feeling the awkwardness of the moment, and saw Edward opening his present. Inside were sheets of paper, music scores.

"They once belonged to a dear mine, brilliant man, he made my stay in Vienna mucho agradable" said Eleazar with a slight grin.

Bella glanced over Edwards arm to see a signature on the paper, no it couldn't be...

"Mozart, yes he is a favourite of mine, thank you, Eleazar."

"You haven't opened yours Bella" said Alice, looking up from her 1930's hair band, and Bella looked down at her innocuous package. Bella carefully pulled away the paper to reveal a book, but not just any book, it was an first edition Wuthering Heights.

"I remembered you said you liked the book" said Edward.

"It's a first edition, how much did it cost?"

Edward smiled wanly "It doesn't matter, as long as you like it."

Bella remembered her manners, it wasn't good form to ask how much a present cost.

"Thank you" she said, carefully placing the book on the coffee table and angling herself towards Edward, drawing him into a hug. At first he was stiff, then he warmed to it, and they stayed that way for a minute. When they pulled away, Bella felt eyes on them, and saw everyone else quickly look away. What was that about?

After gift giving they went for Christmas Dinner, which involved hunting in the wilderness, and after cleaning up, they participated in what Bella learned was a tradition, snow ball fighting.

"Bells is on my team, we're going to wipe the floor with you Major!" shouting Emmett as the vampires mixed into two groups.

The fighting got dirty after the first 15 minutes, and a three hour war of wits and man sized snowballs began. But eventually, Jasper's Military tactics won out over Emmett's straight-to-the-point attitude. Afterwards, everyone dispersed for showers and new clothes, just because they didn't feel cold didn't mean they were going to walk around wet.

The evening consisted of piano playing, well, it turned into duelling, between Bella, Rosalie, Esme and Edward. But out of all of them Edward was by far the most proficient. As the night waned, the vampires dispersed into couples and groups, and Tanya, Irina and Kate left for the main town to go visit some of their male "friends". Emmett made a big deal out of kissing every woman on the cheek as they walked through the living-room doorway to go elsewhere, he had purposefully hung mistletoe. Then he went upstairs with a disapproving Rosalie. If anyone was high on un-life, it was Emmett.

That left Edward and Bella sitting at the Piano bench. After fiddling with her hands for a few minutes while Edward tinkered with the keys, Bella broke the silence.

"I should go start reading my book."

Edward took her cue to stand.

"Yes, I think I'll try some of the music I was given." Edward made a point of walking with Bella to the door of the room.

"Merry Christmas Bella"

Edward smiled at her, and Bella couldn't help noticing how handsome he looked in the candlelight. Glancing up above his head she saw the mistletoe Emmett had been so proud of, and she decided to be brave. Bella leaned forward to a frozen Edward and placed her lips on top of his chastely. He didn't reciprocate, but he didn't pull away either. After a few moments she pulled back shyly and stated.

"Merry Christmas Edward" before running at super-speed up the stairs to the sanctuary of her bedroom, leaving a stunned Vampire in her wake.

After what seemed an eternity of being frozen, Edward's face broke into a grin that had not graced it since the days of his humanity. He touched his mouth with his hand, feeling the phantom touch of Bella's lips and music began to roll through his head. Edward stared up the stairs Bella had run up intently, then he looked at his piano, and he needed to play.

That night Edward wrote his first song for 50 years.

That same night, upstairs, Esme lay in her bed next to Carlisle, smiling into his chest. She listened to the sweet melody echoing from the floor below and it filled her with hope. Emmett was right, the mistletoe _was _a good idea.

**Author's Note: Thanks for reading, please review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. If I did, I would be mega-rich! **

**Author's Note: Sorry it's taking so long guys, but I have a lot of real life stuff going on right now at work. I hope you enjoy this instalment!**

**Chapter 10**

"Bella? Have you finished your math problems?" asked Edward, who was sitting on the floor beside her with the work books.

Bella blinked back into the present and looked at her page of sums, all neatly filled in with the fountain pen. She'd never been a whizz at algebra, but not too shabby either. Yet, after reading through the chapter with her eidetic memory it came so easily. As if before her brain had been dial-up and now she had broadband. The same had happened for her favourite books, now it was as if her brain was a kindle, and she could read them page-for-page mentally. Being a vampire had its perks, the speed, the agility, the stamina, the eidetic memory. But it also had downsides, the thirst, the restlessness and sometimes not being able to forget was a curse.

Despite all the wonderful things that had happened since her turning, eventually, something reminded her of that night. This time, it had been the yellow of her pencil, unconsciously, she'd identified it with the blonde locks of her maker, and she'd flashed back to the attack. She'd been remembering more lately, trees, being dragged, a black leather jacket. In the midst of all the fear and pain, Bella remembered thinking it was so odd he hadn't worn any shoes. His jeans had been caked in mud and dirt, as if he's worn them through a bog. But his face was still clouded, she couldn't see it, and part of her wished she never did, because then she'd never forget it. Bella put the pencil down carefully, so as not to snap it and looked at her study partner.

"Yes, here, grade me?"

Bella slid over her paper, and Edward glanced over it with his eyes before smiling.

"That's an A* Miss Swan. I think you're ready to take the online exam. It's impressive, you've gotten through an entire years Math curriculum in a week."

The Cullen Family had departed after the New Year to go back home, all ... except Edward. He'd opted to stay behind at Carmen's request, so Bella could catch up with her schooling. She'd been quite embarrassed that Edward would be her tutor, especially after what happened on Christmas day. He hadn't said anything about it, and neither had she, so they'd gone back to their previous behaviour, friends. Bella was getting a little frustrated with it.

"I wanted to get it over with, it was never my favourite."

Edward leaned back on the plush carpet, propped up on his elbows, and looking completely relaxed. Bella couldn't help thinking he looked delightfully crumpled.

"Well, we can do Science next if you want? Eleazar's ordered the Microscope and supplies and Tanya has offered to pick them up the next time she's in town."

Tanya's visits to town were becoming more and more frequent lately. There must be some _very_ exhausted men there. Bella wondered if Edward tutoring her was hurting Tanya's feelings, she knew that her adopted sister had once had _designs_ on him that didn't pan out.

But the more time she spent with Edward the less guilty she was able to feel about it.

"No, let's not bother her. How about literature? I've read all of the list so I can write the coursework."

"You know, we don't have to rush. The online exams aren't until the spring. At this rate you'll be ready by February! Let's do something."

Bella leaned back in a similar pose.

"Are you asking me to play hooky Mr Cullen?"

"I'm sure your teacher won't mind" he said, raising a bronze eyebrow at her with a crooked smile.

Bella became fixated on Edward's mouth, the smooth line, the pale pink tint, the white teeth beyond. She remembered the feel of those lips, however brief the touch had been. A quote popped into her head, and she now understood Romeo's words "Oh, let me have my sin again".

Bella moved a little closer, as did Edward, eyes locked on one another and then a door slammed below and they both startled. The moment was gone. Edward moved first.

"Let's go get a snack. There are no Mountain Lions here but a bear will do."

Bella nodded, feeling slightly put out.

Food it was then.

...

"Tanya, did you have to slam the door, they were just getting cosy!" hissed Kate as Tanya slumped onto her bed.

"It wasn't me, it was the wind" she said, lounging like a cat, her strawberry-blond locks sprawling about her like rays of light.

"I can smell that logger on you, you can't be that heartbroken" Kate said, rolling her eyes.

"No...not _heartbroken_. Perhaps a little...put out. I spend 60 years trying to wear our Puritan Prince down and Bella bats her eyes and he's her "tutor"."

"They like each other, they can't help it. Don't you dare try and blame Bella for finding someone."

Tanya shifted to her side, away from Kate, and Kate felt a twinge of sympathy. She lay behind her sister and put her arm round her, spooning.

"You knew it wouldn't work out between him and you. You're just too dominant. He was from a very...repressed decade. Bella, while she is no mouse, is more ...easy going. They complement each other."

Tanya sighed dramatically "I know. I just would have liked to touch that alabaster skin in passion just once. I think he would be magnificent."

"Well the rate things are going, Bella's not going to find out for another 100 years."

Tanya disengaged Kate's arm and turned to face her.

"Perhaps we should...help them along a little. I know Bella's frustration, Edward can be very stubborn with those morals of his. He probably thinks by approaching Bella he would be disrespecting Carmen and Eleazar. Such a strange mind for a male."

Tanya's phone began to ring and she looked at the screen to see the name "ALICE" and she hit "answer"

"Hello Alice, what a surprise, why have you called? ...Really?...No, we'd be delighted to help! What did you have in mind?..."

And thus two vampires conspired to ignite the romance of their siblings via phone.

...

"Did he kiss her yet?" asked Emmett, looking eagerly at his much smaller sister.

"No, they're hunting."

Emmett looked deflated.

"Is he at least checking her out?" he pleaded, with hope in his amber eyes.

"He's trying not to. Edward doesn't think it's polite" said Alice her eyes glazed over as if seeing something far away.

"Have I taught him nothing in 50 years?"

"Edward doesn't take change well. You have to help him along a little" Alice shook her head, her eyes clearing and picked up her phone, fingers typing a number in a second.

"Hey Tanya! I've been watching Edward and Bella and I think soon they'll need the final push. Do you mind facilitating? ...great! Well, you see, Carlisle has a friend who is interested in Vegetarianism, and seeing as we've got school we don't really have time to show him the ropes. How about we send him your way? I think Edward needs a wakeup call... Oh, and so you know, his name's _Garrett_."

**Author's Note: Dun, dun, duuuuuun! Please read and review, so much interfering from siblings! **


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight**

**Author's Note: Sorry for the long hiatus, very busy at work and have had writer's block! I'm going to use the book description of Garrett. **

**Chapter 11**

"Baseball? Really?"

Bella lay on her front, supported by the branch she leaned on, her hair trailing down to one side. She traced the pads of her fingers along the rough bark, marvelling in the feel of it, feeling the thrumming life beneath. In her human body she'd never realised how alive everything was, now that she technically wasn't, the lifeforce of every other creature seemed to scream at her. She gazed down at Edward, who lay on his back on the branch 4 feet below, arms nonchalantly tucked beneath his copper head. Bella found she liked the way his hair stuck up, wild and untamed.

"It _is_ the American pastime" said Edward, smiling, moving one of his arms from behind his head to pluck at a sprig of pine needles from the branch. He held it up in front of him, and Bella impulsively reached down to take it, fiddling with it between her fingers, crushing the greenery to release the potent smell that reminded her of Christmas's with Charlie. It had been so hard to think of life without him, but he would live on in her memory forever. She'd had long talks with Edward about his parents and slowly she was coming to terms with her Dad's death.

Edward always did sweet little things to make her smile. Bella's lip quirked unbidden.

"I was never really a fan of sports, they're sort of deadly for the uncoordinated."

"I'm sure you weren't _that _bad."

Bella shifted on her branch, to look more directly at Edward, her eyebrow quirking in incredulity.

"On my first day of Middle School I broke Mike Newton's nose by spiking a ball into his face in Gym. My medical record includes 15 concussions, 35 sprains, 10 broken bones and more bruises than you can shake a stick at."

"Sounds like you were very unlucky."

"Nope, just very clumsy. I couldn't walk across a room without dropping something or falling over."

Edwards face turned pensive and he asked:

"Were you always like that?"

Bella looked taken aback and saw that his topaz eyes were calculating something, like she was a puzzle.

"I was always dropping things, bumping into them and tripping on nothing. It was like my body had a mind of its own, it never did what it was supposed to. Doesn't matter now, with the _change_ and all, it seems to have clicked something into place."

Bella found herself giggling, she'd made vampirism sound like the menopause. She demonstrated her new agility by rolling off the branch gracefully. Edward moved to give her a place to sit on his patch of bark. They were now sitting facing one another, Bella with one knee drawn to her chest and the other dangling dangerously close to Edwards. Any closer and Bella thought they'd be playing footsie.

"Were you ever tested for a condition called Dyspraxia?"

"Huh?"

"Dyspraxia, it's a neurological condition where the signals between the brain and the body don't connect properly. It causes poor timing of bodily actions, lack of balance, clumsiness and many other movement related problems. It's more common in males, 4 men to every woman have it. Because of this it often goes undiagnosed in women, or in general just gets brushed off as clumsiness."

"Really? I've never heard of it before."

"I'm not surprised, it can be a very under publicised condition. Many people go their whole lives undiagnosed."

"But why would becoming a vampire fix something I was born with?"

"The venom that makes us optimises all our systems. I was dying of Spanish Influenza, and Carlisle's venom cured the disease that had ravaged my body. Perhaps it properly connected the neural pathways between your brain and your body to increase efficiency. That's only supposition of course."

Bella tilted her head in thought and Edward noted the sensuous way her hair slid to the side, the curls bouncing silkily. He mentally pinched himself and gripped his hand tightly on the branch, causing the bark to crumble. He needed to get a grip, these were not "pure" thoughts and Eleazar was trusting him with his adopted daughter.

"You know a lot about medical things" Bella said, interrupting his internal self chastisement.

"I've been to medical school."

Bella blinked.

"Really?"

"Yes, although I've never practised. I don't have the centuries of control Carlisle does. But every few decades or so, if Carlisle needs to renew his medical degree but can't attend, I go for him and update him on the latest techniques. Sometimes I get tired of repeating high school _over and over_."

Bella pondered this, an eternity trapped in a teenage body, doomed to move and repeat high school over and over like some kind of purgatory, watching everyone else grow up and move on. That was her future.

Edward saw the pensive look on Bella's face and hastily added:

"But then, there's also the ability to constantly learn, to see wonders humans can never imagine, to do things like this!" he said, looking down. Bella did too and looked the 100 ft down to the base of the gargantuan pine tree they sat in.

"I guess high school won't be _so_ bad as a vampire. No acne, no raging hormones, no worrying about the future. I guess after a decade or so I'll let you show me the ropes."

"Definitely! Carlisle and Esme would love to have you to stay. It's be nice, having you around, a lot of the time I'm the odd man out, you know, in a house full of couples."

Edward smiled encouragingly and the wind blew a lock of Bella's hair into her face, which he brushed away on instinct behind her ear. His finger tip traced the lobe before slowly retracting; it was getting harder and harder to be around her and not to touch her. Bella took this as her cue to scoot closer casually as she shifted unnecessarily from sitting face on to sideways, her side now brushed his.

"So, you didn't finish telling me. How do you know Forks?"

Edward felt the tension ease and he smiled.

"Yes, your hometown. We lived there in the 1930's, that was before Jasper, Alice and Emmett joined the family. Back then it was just Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie and I. I'm sure it was very different to how you remember it. It was mainly a hunting and logging community-"

"No change there then - Sorry, I interrupted, go on."

"Thank you" he said, lip quirking again, he liked when she got sarcastic, it gave him an idea of what lay inside her befuddling head.

"What we didn't realise was that there was something apart from us living there. Something Supernatural..."

Edward told her the tale of the Quileute tribe and their curious habit of changing into wolves.

"Black, Ephraim_ Black_?"

Bella was very still when she said this, her face impassive.

"Yes" said Edward.

"My Dad's best friend is..._was_... Billy _Black._ He and his son Jacob were descended from the last Chief. They were really proud of their heritage. But Billy was in a wheelchair. Can he be a werewolf?"

Bella felt cold, had her father's best friend been lying to him for years?

"It's not likely. They seemed to be triggered by our presence. _Vampires_" he clarified "but after we left there were no more reports of wolf sightings. I believe the gene stands dormant until it is needed."

A cold wind blew and dislodged some pine needles, which seemed to aim themselves for Edwards mop of copper hair, leaving it looking like a briar patch. Bella took one look at it and started laughing while Edward looked at her bemused.

"You...ha ha ha...you...ha ha ha...you look like a hedgehog!"

Edward placed a graceful hand in his hair and pulled away with the green offenders looking at them thoughtfully. He reached out with the full hand with intent.

"Oh no you don't!" said Bella, flipping backwards out of the tree and falling 100 ft to the ground. She looked up at Edward and grinned before racing off, hearing the thud of his feet hitting the forest floor as he pursued. They weaved through trees, climbing and diving, Bella one step ahead of Edward, her shield preventing him from predicting her movements. Finally, Bella decided she'd let him catch her, and turned, only for Edward to pounce, and cause them to fall in a heap of limbs. One of her legs wrapped around his, and his full weight pinned her down to the snow. Their faces were barely an inch apart, their useless breath feeding each other's lungs.

"I win" said Edward grinning, and he move one of his hands, Bella felt pine needles fall into her hair. Then suddenly Edward froze and a frown came over his face.

"What's wrong?" asked Bella, as Edward climbed off of her, offering a hand to help her rise.

"There's a stranger at the house. Eleazar wants us to come home."

Bella took the hand and rose gracefully, shaking the pine needles out of her hair.

"A human?"

"A Vampire, he claims Carlisle sent him."

Bella brushed down her clothes nodded, and together they began to run through the snow covered wilderness, weaving in between trees until they saw the house. Edward opened the front door for Bella and slid her jacket from her arms automatically, before deliberately walking in front of her as they headed to the living room. The stranger might be a threat.

Before them the entire family sat on couches, with the 3 blonde sisters sitting around a stranger. He was tall, with sandy blonde hair and a rangy appearance that made clear he was an adventurer. Bella froze when she saw his hair colour, but then relaxed on closer inspection. The vampire who had attacked had had a lighter shade of blonde. Garrett appeared to have all the sisters in fits of laughter and it quieted down when Edward and Bella entered. Eleazar, who sat with Carmen on another sofa, stood to greet them.

"Ah Edward, my niña, I'm glad you've returned. Let me introduce Garrett, Carlisle has sent him to us to learn about vegetarianism, but he also has other useful qualifications that might help us."

Garrett stood gracefully and came forward and Bella saw he had the telltale crimson eyes of man eater. She realised she'd never met a non-vegetarian vampire before (aside from her maker) and found herself unduly curious. Edward glanced at Bella, who was looking at Garrett with interest and found he didn't like it, not at all. He held out his hand to Garrett nonetheless, but made sure to squeeze it just a little too hard, but was surprised when Garrett looked at him knowingly and thought -

"_Don't start a battle you can't win kid, I'm used to fighting wars."_

Edward frowned and Garrett grinned. So Garrett knew about his ability, Edward withdrew his hand.

"So Garrett, what _qualifications_ do you have?"

"Oh, I've been in pretty much every major war for the last 200 years. I know a thing or two about handling newborns and training them."

Garrett deliberately sidestepped Edward, who glared at the back of his head as he took Bella's hand and kissed it. Bella thought if she could still blush she'd be redder than apples.

"So you must be the Bella I've heard so much about. Eleazar tells me you're finishing up High School. Well, I'll be taking over your _physical education_ from now on. We'll have you ready to fight off werewolves by the time I'm through with you."

Garrett was so confident and rakishly charismatic, Bella couldn't help but be charmed by him. She didn't notice Edward clench his fist so hard his diamond-strong palm cracked like porcelain.

**Author's Note: Thanks for reading, please read and review! **


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